PERSICARIA FAMILY 42 I 



1. R. conglomerdlus (Sharp Dock). — A sniooth, Flender plant, 

 1 — 3 feet high, with few spreading braiicjies ; haves oblong- 

 lanceolate, not narrowing above the base, 'cordate or rounded at 

 the base, acute ; flowers in a panicle of distant whorls, leafy almost 

 to the top, iijiier periauth-segments linear-o.blong, sub acute, each 

 bearing a large oblong \yart. — ^\'et places ; common. — Fl. June — 

 August. Perennial. 



2. R. nipestris (Shore Dock). — A nearly allied form, with a 

 more compact, upright habit ; haves straprshaped, rounded and 

 narrowed at both ends ; panich tapering, whorls not \ery distant : 

 inner perianlh-segnients large, narrow, oblong, blunt, with large 

 warts. — On the south coast ; rare. — Fl. June — August. Perennial. 



3. R. sanguineus (Bloody-veined Dock). — A smooth species 

 with a slender stem, i — 4 feet high, with feiv ascending branches ; 

 leaves ovate-lanceolate, fiddle-shaped, slightly wavy, usually 

 cordate and with the veins tinged of a beaytiful crimson ; floivers 

 in many-flowered, distant whorls forming '^ loose panicle, only 

 leafy at the base ; inner perianth-segments, oblong, blunt, with a 

 large, smooth wart on the outermost. — Roadsides and hedges : 

 common. The form with green veins is the more frequent. — Fl. 

 June — August. Perennial. 



4. R. niaritimiis (Golden Dock). — A slightly downy, yellow- 

 green plant, I — 2 feet high, with ascending 'branches : haves short- 

 stalked, linear-lanceolate, narrowed at botlr ends, slightly wavy : 

 flowers in crowded, confluent, many-flowered whorls, in a leafy 

 panicle with spreading branches ; in)ier perianth-segments tri- 

 angular, acuminate, orange-yellow, with 2 bristly teeth, often 

 longer than the segment, on each side, and each with a prominent, 

 narrow, oblong wart. — ^farshes, principally near the sea ; rare. — 

 Fl. July, August. Biennial. 



5. R. Umosus (Vellow Marsh Dock). — A closely allied species, 

 with the whorls distinct, looser, and fewer-flowered ; the inner 

 perianth-segments ovate-oblong, with shorter, bristly teeth ; and the 

 nut much larger. — Marshes ; less common: than R. maritinms. — 

 Fl. July — September. Perennial. 



6. R. piihJier (Fiddle Dock). — A small, nearly smooth, 

 straggling, branched plant ; hiver haves fiddle-shaped or oblong, 

 with a heart-shaped base and narrowed 'above, with slender 

 petioles ; tipper haves lanceolate, acute-; flcncers in distant 

 whorls forming a spreading, leafy panicle ; inner perianth-segments 

 pale-coloured, oblong, deeply toothed along the lower halves of 

 their edges, with a network of veins, and on one of them a more 

 prominent, oblong, prickly wart. — 'Waste places on dry soil : not 

 uncommon. — Fl. June — October. Biennial* or perennial. 



