6 5 6 



POLYGONACEAE. 



Vol. I. 



8. Rumex altissimus Wood. Tall or 

 Peach-leaved Dock. Fig. 1604. 



Rumex altissimus Wood, Class-book, 477. 1853. 

 Rumex Brittannica Meisn. in DC. Prodr. 14 : 47. 

 1856. Not L. 1753. 



Perennial, glabrous, rather pale green; stem 

 stout, erect, simple or sparingly branched above, 

 grooved, 2°-4° tall. Leaves lanceolate, oblong- 

 lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate (sometimes ob- 

 lanceolate), 2'-io' long, acute at both ends, papil- 

 lose; panicle rather open; racemes slightly inter- 

 rupted in fruit; flowers densely whorled; calyx 

 light green, 1" long, winged in fruit; pedicels 

 slender, jointed near the base, as long as the 

 wings ; wings triangular-cordate, 2"-2j" long, 

 usually one of them only bearing an ovoid tuber- 

 cle; achene ii" long, dark red, smooth, shining, 

 its faces concave. 



Along streams and in swamps, Connecticut to Iowa, 

 Nebraska, Maryland and Texas. Pale dock. April- 

 June. 



9. Rumex Patientia L. Patience Dock. 

 Garden Patience. Fig. 1605. 



Rumex Patientia L. Sp. PI. 333. 1753. 



Perennial, glabrous, stem erect, simple or spar- 

 ingly branched, grooved, 2°-5° tall. Lower leaves 

 ovate-lanceolate, long-petioled, 4-16' long, the 

 upper oblong-lanceolate or oblong-elliptic, acute or 

 obtusish, the uppermost lanceolate; fruiting panicle 

 dense; racemes erect, somewhat interrupted in 

 fruit; flowers densely whorled; calyx green; pedi- 

 cels slender, 2-4 times as long as the calyx-wings, 

 jointed below the middle; wings orbicular-cordate, 

 2"-3" long, one of them bearing a prominent but 

 small ovoid callosity; achene il' long, light brown, 

 smooth, shining, its faces concave, its angles ob- 

 scurely margined. 



In waste places, Newfoundland and Ontario to Wis- 

 consin, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Kansas. Also in 

 the Far West. Naturalized from Europe. Passions. 

 Monk's-rhubarb. May-June. 



10. Rumex Britannica L 



Dock, 



Great Water- 

 Fig. 1606. 



Rumex Britannica L. Sp. PI. 334. 1753. 



Rumex Hydrolapathum var. ? americanum A. Gray, 



Man. Ed. 2, 377. 1856. 

 R. orbiculatus A. Gray, Man. Ed. 5, 420. 1867. 



Perennial, glabrous, dark green, stem stout, 

 erect, more or less branched, grooved, 3°-6° tall. 

 Leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, the lower 

 i°-2° long, long-petioled, the upper 2'-6' long, 

 short-petioled ; fruiting panicle dense; racemes 

 nearly erect, more or less interrupted; flowers 

 densely whorled ; calyx light green ; pedicels 

 slender, conspicuously jointed above the base, 

 4-2 times as long as the calyx-wings; wings 

 broadly cordate, 3" long, irregularly denticulate, 

 each bearing a callosity ; achene ovoid-oblong, 

 or oblong, 2 ' long ; pointed at both ends, brown, 

 smooth, shining, its faces concave, its angles 

 slightly margined. 



In swamps and wet soil, Newfoundland and New 

 Brunswick to Ontario, Minnesota, New Jersey, Penn- 

 sylvania, Illinois and Kansas. Horse-sorrel. July- 

 Aug. 



