RUMEX. 



men from Dr. Bladh, in the Linnxan herbarium. The 

 fynonym of Boccone, which furely can have nothing to do 

 with this plant, caufed it to be thought of Italian origin. 

 Linnaeus cultivated it at Dpfal, and we have a fpccimen 

 from the Paris garden, but our Englilh cultivators feein to 

 know nothing of this Rumex. The root is tuberous like 

 Spirtca Filipendula, or R. tuberofus, n. 34, and, of courfe, 

 perennial. Stems many, twelve or eighteen inches long, 

 proftrate, branched, zigzag, leafy, marked with five angles, 

 and ftriated. Leaves on long tlalks, very acid, purplilh at 

 the margin, waved, but fcarcely crenate ; their form tri- 

 angular, with taper fpreading points ; their length an inch 

 and a half or two inches ; and they are cut away at the bale, 

 up to the fide ribs. Clujlers terminal, numerous, compoling 

 a large fpreading panicle, with fine, capillary, fingle-jointed 

 partial Jl alls. Flowers certainly monoecious in the above- 

 mentioned fpecimen, the only one we have feeh ; the males 

 towards the extremity of the chillers. Calyx in both icxes 

 oblong, incurved, concave, obtufe. Petals larger, orbi- 

 cular, reddifh. Stamens fix, with oblong cloven anthers. 

 Valves twice as large as the permanent indexed calyx, orbi- 

 cular, finely reticulated, and, as far as we can dticover, def- 

 titute of grains. It might puzzle any reader to determine 

 what the younger Linnasus meant, in the Supplementum, by 

 the inner and outer valves. The latter are the calyx, but 

 there is no authority, nor analogy, to juftify his phrafeo- 

 logy, nor is the calyx awl-lhaped. We are enabled to folve 

 Willdenow's difficult v concerning R. fpinofus of Thunberg, 

 as we have the real fpinofus from the Cape, and the prefent 

 plant anfwers fo exaftly to his fagittatus, a fpecies appa- 

 rently overlooked by Willdenow. 



41. R. arifolius. Great Arum-leaved Sorrel. Linn. 

 Suppl. 212. Willd. n. 35. Ait. n. 27. Allion. Pedem. 

 v. 2. 204? (K. abyffinicus ; Jacq. Hort. Vind. v. 3. 48. 

 t. 98. Acetofa montana lato ari rotundo folio; Bocc. 

 Muf. v. 1. 165. t. 125? fee alfo t. 1 26. ) —Flowers dioe- 

 cious. Leaves all (talked, haftate, with fimple divaricated 

 lobes. Valves heart-fhaped, rounded, naked, entire — This 

 fpecies is reported to have been brought from Abyffinia by 

 Mr. Bruce, as every thing communicated by that celebrated 

 traveller was, at one time, fuppofed to have been ; juft as 

 the gardeners have fince attributed every new plant, even 

 the Great Barbary Oat, to Botany B iy. We can fcarcely 

 doubt that Allioni's is the fame fpecies, for few plants vary 

 more furprizingly in luxuriance than we have feen this ; and 

 if fo, R. arifolius is a native of the Alps. We gathered it 

 by the great high road over Mount Cents, in 1787. To 

 prevent mirtakes, we ihall di fcribe our fpecimens, and leave 

 our readers to obferve how nearly they agree with JacqUin's 

 luxuriant garden ones, which he fays were from fix to nine 

 feet high. Root perennial. Stems from three to five feet 

 high, ere£l, fimple, leafy, fomewhat angular, ftrongly fur- 

 rowed, fmootli, light green, often reddifh. Leaves of a 

 light bright green, not of the deep hue of i?. Acetofa, from 

 two to tour inches long, fom more, oblong inclining 



to ovate, with two fpreading, acute., entire lobes al 

 bafe, very variable in fize. Footjlalks very long in the lower 

 and radical leaves, and fcarcely entirely wanting in the up- 

 permolt. Clujlers numerous, forming a large, terminal, 

 compound, lea&eh panicle of innumerable, ven (mall, gi en 

 flowers, male on one plant, female on another, 

 the latter reflexed, permanent. Valves thrice as lai 

 brown, tinged with pink, membi nou . without grains, 

 finely reticulated, nearly orbicular, w..vy; but not CO 

 See,! pale brown, above hall tin- length ol the valve , its 

 angles (harp and greatly comprcfled. It mull be obferved 

 that though Jacquin's figure, which i6 far from exquifitely 



iinilhed, feems to indicate grains on the valves, his defcrip- 

 tion fays there are none. We are not very doubtful of 

 Bocconc's fynonym, as his figures are generally diminifhed, 

 and our plant is fo variable in fize. 



42. R. bipinnatus. Cut-leaved .Sorrel. Linn. Suppl. 2 1 I. 



Willd. n. 36 Flowers dioecious. Leaves doubly pin- 



nalifid. — Native of Morocco, in fandy ground, according 

 to a fpccimen in the Linnasan herbarium, the only one we 

 have feen, which is juft about flowering, and feems entirely 

 male. Stem afcending, about a fpaa long, fimple, leafy, 

 angular, llriated, fmooth. leaves an inch or more in 

 !>., apparently very ilefhy, heart-fhaped, deeply pinna- 

 tifid almoft to the mid-rib; their fegments deeply, irregu- 

 larly and obtufely fubdivided, lo that the whole leaf bears 

 refemblance to various fpecies of Pelargonium ; fee 

 that article. Footflalks about equal to the leaves, or longer. 

 Stipulas large, membranous, pale, ovate, acute, fheathing 

 at the bafe. Cluflers compoling a terminal panicle, with 

 large fhiiiing bratteas, refembling the flipulas. Ca/y\- of 

 three roundifh, concave, membranous-edged leaves. We 

 can fcarcely difcern even the rudiments of petals. Stamens 

 fix, with oblong, reddifh, cloven anthers. 



43. R. hoJHlis. Armed, or Prickly Dock. Loureir. 

 Cochiiich. 217. — Flowers dioecious. Leaves lanceolate, 

 entire. Stem prickly. Valves naked. — Native of Cochin- 

 china, where it is called Cay died gai. The flem is three 

 feet high, ereft, round, prickly. Leaves flat, fpreading. 

 Flowers fpiked. Valves all without grains, entire, fmooth, 

 unarmed. Seed triangular. Petals three, greenifh. Lou- 

 n in. 



The author lail named has a R. crifpus, found near rivers 

 in Cochinchina, which he mentions as eatable. This is 

 very unlikely to be our Linnxan crifpus, efpecially as he fays 

 each valve bears three briftles, nor was he at all acquainted 

 with European plants, except from defcription. Still we 

 dare not, without fpecimens, adopt the fpecies in queflion 

 as a new one. 



Rimex, in Gardening, contains plants of the herbaceous, 

 perennial, and woody evergreen kinds, of which the fpecies 

 cultivated are, the common forrel (R. acetofa) ; the French 

 forrel (R. fcutatus) ; the patience dock, or rhubarb (R. 

 patiehtia) ; the bloody-veined dock, or bloodwort (R. fan- 

 guineus) ; and the tree forrel ( R. lunaria). 



In the tirll fpecies the whole herb is acid, with a degree of 

 aftringency not unpleafant or unwholefome. It is often cul- 

 tivated as a culinary herb. And there is a variety of it with 

 broad leaves, termed great mountain forrel. 



The fecond fort, which is called rouud-leavcd forrel, is a 

 more grateful acid than the lirll kind, and ot courfe preferred 

 for kitchen ufe, in foups, &c. 



Method of Culture. — The lirll and fecond forts and 

 varieties of thefe plants may be inerealed by feed and 

 parting the roots, hut more particularly the lirll. as the 

 [attei ■ bi very readily increafed by the roots. The feeds 

 Ihould be lown in a bed or bi rder in the earl) Ipring, as 

 March, raking tin 111 in evenly. When the plants come up, 



they (houldbe regularly thinned, and when of fome growth, 

 in thefummer, be planted out m rows on a bed or border, 



about eight or nine inches apart In in . n n 1 fort, ai:d, ill 

 the others foot or more, teri veil; when they 



will be proper to cut the latter end of the fame fummer and 

 in the autumn, continuing foi feveral years; bul as the 

 1 tirll kind n oftlj pn duo larger leaves 

 ■ 1 he older plant . Frefh Cup] an- 



nually, oreven other year. And the parted roots may be 



planted rut in the lan feafon ■ n lit 11. ■:. ■ a loot 



, giving them a good watering when they grow readily 



and 



