RUMEX. 



leaf, pitcher- (haped, with three fpreading fpinous points. 



Stem decumbent. Leaves (lightly haftate Native of 



Gibraltar, Zante, Crete, and the neighbourhood of Athens ; 

 alfo of the Cape of Good Hope ; cultivated here in 1656, 

 by Tradefcant. This is a proftrate, annual, widely fpreading, 

 and rank-growing herb, with the afpect and green hue of 

 fome kind of Beet. The branches are zigzag, round, 

 ftriated. Leaves ftalked, fpreadiHg, about two inches long 

 and orfe broad, entire and lmooth. Tufts of iemAe Jloiuers 

 fefiile, axillary ; thofe of the males much fewer, leaflefs, 

 about the ends of the branches, ftalked and drooping. 

 Calyx and petals of the latter alike, concave, obtuie, equal. 

 Stamens fix. Calyx of the former triangular, with fix ribs, 

 and curious depreflions between ; the three fegments fpread- 

 ing, heart-fhaped, folded, fpinous-pointed, finally very hard 

 and rigid. Petal; fmall, oblong, triangular, eretl, perma- 

 nent, but fcarcely enlarged, the body of the calyx enclofing 

 the feat. This lingular (pecies, in its fruit, as well as habit, 

 approaches the nature of Beta and Spinacia. 



33. R. giganteus. Tall Dock. Ait. n. 23. — "Flowers 

 monoecious. Valves naked. Leaves oblong-ovate." — 

 Native of the Sandwich ifiands, from whence it was brought 

 by Mr. Menzies, in 1796. It is a perennial green-houfe 

 plant, flowering from June to Auguft. Alton. 



34. R. tuberofus. Tuberous-rooted Dock. Linn. Sp. 

 PI. 481. Willd. n. 29. Ait. n. 24. Sm. Fl. Grxc. Sibth. 

 t. 348, unpublifhed. (Oxalis tuberofa radice ; Bauli. Hift. 

 v. 2. 991. Ger. Em. 396.) — Flowers dioecious. Valves 

 naked. Leaves oblong-arrow-fhaped ; their lobes fpreading. 

 Root with oval knobs. — Native of Italy, Afia minor, and 

 the iflands of Cyprus and Lemnos. Miller is faid to have 

 cultivated this fpecies, but it feems now loft. The root is 

 perennial, with oval or oblong knobs, like thofe of Spiraa 

 Filipendula. Stems a foot high. Leaves entire, with two 

 divaricated lobes or points at the bafe, fmooth. Clujiers 

 panicled, of an elegant rofe-colour, efpecially when ripening 

 feed. Anthers orange. Stigmas pink. Valves orbicular, 

 obtufe ; heart-fhaped at the bafe, without grains. 



35. R. Acetofa. Common Sorrel. Linn. Sp. PI. 481. 

 Willd. n. 31, excluding the laft variety. Ait. n. 25. Fl. 

 Brit. n. 10. Engl. Bot. t. 127. Woodv. Med. Bot. 

 t. 69. (Oxalis, five Acetofa; Ger. Em. 396.) — Flowers 

 dioecious. Valves granular. Leaves oblong-awl-fhaped ; 

 their lobes converging, often notched. — Native of grafl'y 

 paftures throughout Europe, from the alps of Lapland to 

 Greece, flowering early in June. The root is perennial, 

 tapering, running deep into the ground, tufted at the top, 

 and throwing up levcral funis, one to two feet high, round, 

 iimple, leafy, ftriated. Leaves deep green, paler beneath ; 

 the lower and radical ones ftalked ; the upper fefiile, fome- 

 what revolute, clafping the item ; the points at the bafe of 

 all rather directed inward than otherwife, and not in any 

 degree divaricated ; their edges nearly entire, or flightly 

 crifped. Stipulas long, tubular, jagged at the fummit. 

 Clujiers compound or aggregate, whorled, reddiih. Floivers 

 drooping, completely dioecious. Petals in both oblong- 

 ovate, larger than the calyx, which latter is reflexed when in 

 fruit. Valves ovate, obtufe, entire, each bearing an ovate 

 grain. Linnajus in Fl. Lapp. ed. 2. 99, and Dillenius in 



Raii Syn. ed. 3. 143, mention a large alpine variety, for 

 which the former cites Muntingius, (de vera herba Britan- 

 nica,) Acetola Hifpanica maxima, 225. t. 213. This 

 author's plant feems rather the arifolius hereafter defcribed, 

 which we can fcarcely believe to have been found either in 

 Lapland or Merionethfliire. R. Acetofa taltes gratefully 

 acid, with a pleafant and wholefome aftrmgency. It is, ac- 



1 



cording to Linnxus, much ufed by the Laplanders for pre- 

 paring a kind of whey frcm rein-deer's milk, which will 

 keep a long time, and is in great requeit among people of 

 all ages. 



36. R. Acetofilla. Sheep's Sorrel. Linn. Sp. PI. 48 1« 

 Willd. n. 32. Ait. n. 26. Purfh n. 10. Fl. Brit. n. 11. 

 Engl. Bot. t. 1674. Curt. Lond. fafc. 5. t. 29. (Oxalis 

 tenuifolia ; Ger. Em. 397. O. five Acetola, minor ; Matth. 

 Valgr. v. 1. 406.) — Flowers ('.ioecious. Valves naked. 

 Leaves lanceolate-haftate. — Native of barren fandy or gra- 

 velly paftures and fields, throughout Europe, flowering in 

 June and July. This is but halt the fize of the laft, more 

 (lender in every part, and more of a red or tawny colour. 

 The root is perennial and creeping. Leaves numerous ; the 

 radical ones haftate, their tranfverfe lobes Ipreading at right 

 angles with the central lobe, narrow and entire ; ftem-leaves 

 often undivided. Cliflers panicled, numerous. Valves 

 ovate, nearly entire, all deititute of grains. The herb 

 is acid. 



37. R. multifidus. Many-cleft Sorrel. Linn. Sp. PI. 

 482. Willd. 11. 30. Sm. Fl. Grasc. Sibth. t. 349, un- 

 publiflied. (R. Acetofella I ; Linn. Sp. PI. 482. Acetofa 

 minor erefta, lobis multiiidij ; Bocc. Muf. v. 2. 164. t. 126. 

 Tourn. Inft. 503.) — Flowers dioecious. Leaves lanceolate- 

 haftate ; their fide lobes palmate. — Native of Italy, Sicily, 

 and the Levant. Dr. Sibthorp gathered it on the hills of 

 Greece, as well as near Conftantinople. Linnseus feems 

 never to have feen it, and has fallen into a ftrange error, in 

 quoting Boccone's fynonym for two different things, within 

 four or five lines. This Willdenow did not prefume to cor- 

 rect, but aggravated the error by one figure. He reminds us 

 of the very fubmiffive young man, who*faw Roufieau eat the 

 berries of Hippophac, without daring to tell him they were 

 reputed poifonous. The prefent fpecies differs from the laft 

 merely in the divilions of its fide lobes. We have never feen 

 its valves, but the floivers are exactly like Acetofclla, of 

 which it may pofiibly be a variety. 



38. W.bidens. Toothed-valved Sorrel. Brown 11.2 



" Flowers feparated. Valves naked, haftate. Leaves 

 linear-lanceolate, tapering at the bafe." — Gathered by Mr. 

 Brown, in Van Diemen's ifland. Whether this be dioecious 

 or monoecious is not expreffed. 



39. R. aculealus. Priekly-valved Sorrel. Linn. Sp. PI. 

 482. Willd. n. 33. Sm. Prodr. Fl. Grac. Sibth. v. 1. 

 249. I Acetofa cretica, fc-mine aculeato ; Bauh. Prodr. 55. 

 Oxalis minor aculeata Candix ; Bauh. Hift. v. 2. 991.) — 

 Flowers monoecious. Leaves lanceolate, ftalked. Fruit 

 reflexed. Valves fringed with hooksd prickles. — Native of 

 Spain, Crete, Greece, and the neighbourhood of Conftan- 

 tinople. A very curious little perennial fpecies, fomewhat 

 like Acetofelia in herbage, except that the leaves are more 

 glaucous, and limply lanceolate, not haftate. The clujiers, 

 or fpikes, are folitary at the top of each branch, and look 

 at firft fi^ht like thofe of fome Refedtt. Floivers fmall, 

 monoecious in both the Linnaean fpecmiens, though on one 

 there are more males, on the other more females. The 

 latter are ftrongly curved downwards. Valves ovate, cu- 

 rioufly fringed with rigid, hooked, or forked, prickles ; 

 fome are furnifhed with a {mail grain. 



40. R. luxuriant. Spreading Cape Sorrel. Linn. Mant. 

 64. Suppl. 212. Willd. n. 34. (R. fagittatus ; Tbunb. 

 Prodr. 67. Acetofa montana pumila, fegopiri folio ; Bocc. 

 Muf. v. 1. 165. t. 126?) — Flowers monoecious. Leaves 

 haftate, taper-pointed ; fomewhat heart-fhaped. Stem 

 much branched, angular, diffufe. Valves orbicular, naked. 

 — Native of the Cape of Good Hope, according to a fpeci- 



men 



