POLYGONUM. RUMEX. 173 



grounds, common. Aug. — " Variat foliorum disco maculato et non 

 maculato ; species hsec unica. Variat etiam spicis albis et rubris, 

 tamen eadem est." Linn. Fl. Lapp. p. 47. 



489. P. HYDROPiPER. Ditches and watery places, frequent. 

 Aug., Sept. — " Circa autumnum provenit, sero floret dum alire 

 cessant, et noctibus gelu exasperatis tota rufescit nutante spica." 

 Linnaeus. It is the "Culrage" of our old herbalists. See Prompt. 

 Parv. i. 108. n. 2. 



4y0. p. AvictiLARE. ^totm'^jgra^iS. Wastes, roadsides, and 

 cultivated fields, very common, flowering during summer. The 

 variety with an erect stem may be found in almost every corn-field. 

 The var. /3. of Hooker's Br. Flora, p. 182, is also frequent in the 

 neighbourhood of Berwick. — Pigs are said to be fond of this weed. 

 Sheep and cattle eat it with avidity. Small birds find a never-failing 

 supply of food in the profusion of its seeds. Being difficult to cut in 

 the harvest time, or to pull in the process of weeding, it has obtained 

 the sobriquet of the" mtiVsMAn^tlS. — Flourishes where trampled 

 upon. 



491. P. CONVOLVULUS. ^paHtii — from the shape of the leaf. 

 Corn-fields, common, and, in light soils, a troublesome weed. Aut. 



16. Pagopyrum esculentum. J3u£6h)i)cat. Cultivated in small 

 quantity for the use principally of pheasants. See Beckmann's Hist. 

 Inv. i. p. 425-431. 



492. RuMEx CRispus. Ci)C JSocfetn. Waste grounds and road- 

 sides, common. 



493. R. PRATENSis. Wet road-sides and rich ground at our burn 

 sides, not uncommon, but overlooked until the character of the plant 

 was pointed out by Wm. Borrer, Esq., during his visit to Berwick in 

 September 1850. Professor Arnott suspects that it is a hybrid 

 between R. crispus and R. obtusifolius. Ann. and Mag. N. Hist. 

 Ser. 2. vi. p. 474. 



494. R. SANGUINEUS. In woods and shaded places. Var. a. 

 genuinus. B. Woods at Netherbyres, Rev. A. JBaird. Langton 

 woods, abundant. Rev. Thos. Brown. Whitehall plantations, A. A. 

 Carr. Banks of the Blackadder in front of AUanbank house. — Var. 

 j3. viridis. B. Newwaterhaugh, in a hedge behind the garden. Plen- 

 tiful in the Pease-bridge dean. — R. Both varieties grow plentifully in 

 the woods at Newton Don. — Willdenow tells us that this Docken is a 

 native of Virginia ; that it grows as it were spontaneously in Germany ; 

 and that it has migrated to Hampstead in England : but this tale of 

 its travels is certainly fictitious. The plant is truly indigenous. 



495. R. ACUTUS=R. conglomeratus. Watery places, frequent in 

 our district. Summer. 



496. R. OBTUSIFOLIUS. Wi)e ©ocfetn. Waste grounds. — A 

 healing salve is made from the roots. The leaves, chopped up with 

 oatmeal, are given to young poultry ; and boiled simply, or mixed 

 with bran, or shairps, or a little sour milk, they are given to swine. 



