122 THE SAND STBAND FLOBA 



P. paronychia Cham. & Schleeht. 



Suffrutescent perennial, with prostrate or ascending stems, 3—10 

 dm. long, branches leafy above, clothed below with old sheaths; these 

 large, 1—2 cm. long, brown and 5-nerved, margin lacerate above, per- 

 sistent, the segments becoming hairlike in age; leaves linear-lanceolate, 

 15 — 30 mm. long, acute, the margin revohite. 



Coastal sand dimes of California, from Pacific Grove to Puget Sound. 



Rumex acetosella L. 



Perennial herb, with tufted stems, often running red, about 25 cm. 

 high, creeping rhizome; radical and lower leaves hastate or sagittate, 

 the upper reduced or branches leafless, and ending in the reddish 

 (pistillate) or yellowish (staminate) panicle. 



Common in most temperate and subtropical countries, often oc- 

 curring on coastal sands, but not confined to these. 



R. conglomerate Murr. 



Perennial herb, with slender, mostly clustered stems, 10 — 12 dm. 

 high; leaves oblong or ovate, slightly undulate, 10 cm. long, reduced 

 above, petiolate, rounded at base. 



Dispersed in Europe, temperate Asia, Australia, and California, ap- 

 parently introduced into the two last mentioned countries. Sometimes 

 on coastal sands, f. i. at Pacific Grove, California, where it has a char- 

 acteristic prostrate form. 



R. crispus L. 



Perennial, with thick rhizome, stems furrowed, stoutish, 6 — 10 dm. 

 high; leaves bluish green, the radical narrow-elliptical to oblong-lanceo- 

 late, strongly undulated with crisp margins, the base often decurrent 

 upon the petiole, up to 20 cm. long, the upper smaller, passing gradually 

 into bracts. 



Common in Europe and temperate Asia, especially on roadsides and 

 waste places, but also on sea shores. Also in North America and Austra- 

 lia, where supposed to be introduced. 



R. maritimus L. 



Annual or sometimes biennial, with stem 3 — 4 dm. high, much 

 branched, minutely pubescent, erect or procumbent; leaves linear- 

 lanceolate. 



Beaches and marshes, especially near the. sea, but also inland. Europe, 

 temperate Asia, Atlantic coast, and interior valleys of North America. 



