466 DICOTYLEDONS AND CONIFERS 



consensus of opinion is, however, strongly in favour of its being an 

 introduced plant. 

 Guppy says: 



In England I have found the nutlets oi Polygonum convolvulus, P.persi- 

 caria and P. avicularee in the stomachs of a wild duck, and a curlew, and 

 they came frequently under my notice in the crops and intestines of 

 different kinds of partridges and of wood-pigeons. Though most of the 

 fruits were generally injured, a few of them were not uncommonly obtained 

 in a sound condition. 



Polygonum Convolvulus, Linn. Black Bindweed 



Armstrong reported this species from Canterbury in 187 1. It 

 was common in gardens in Dunedin in 1874. Kirk found it in 

 cultivated land in Wellington Province in 1877. Cheeseman recorded 

 it in 1882 from roadsides and waste places, but not common. It is 

 now a common weed of cultivation in many parts of both islands. 

 In New Pljrmouth I saw it (April, 1919) climbing 15 to 20 ft. high, 

 and bearing bunches of fruit over six inches in diameter. 



In Europe this species is visited by Apis mellifica^- 



Fagopyrum esculentum, Moench. Buckwheat 



I do not know when or where this was first introduced, but 

 Kirk first records it in 1869 from Auckland district, and remarks: 

 "This may become a weed of cultivated land, but at present can 

 scarcely be called naturaUsed." W. W. Smith reported in 1903 that 

 it used to be common on railways and cuttings near Ashburton, but 

 disappeared after drought seasons. The Manual (1906) considers it 

 only an escape from cultivation in both islands. My own opinion 

 is that it is nowhere naturalised. It is largely grown by bee-keepers. 



In Europe it is visited by Apis mellifica (most abundantly), Bombus 

 lapidarius, Musca corvina and Eristalis tenax. 



Rumex obtusifolius, Linn. Common Dock 



This obnoxious weed was no doubt introduced into the country 

 at an early period of settlement, as few samples of grass or other 

 agricultural seeds brought from Britain were quite free from it. Earl 

 mentions that the dock was a great nuisance in Maori plantations at 

 Hokianga in 1834. But it increased so freely that legends of its 

 introduction sprung up, which may or may not be true. Thus Darwin, 

 who visited the Bay of Islands in 1835, says: "The common dock is 

 also widely disseminated, and will, I fear, for ever remain a proof 



^ In 1879 Armstrong reported Polygonum Dryandri as occurring in Canterbury; 

 the identification is doubtful. 



