POLYG ON A CEA E. 357 



places and ballast, S. N. Y. to Va. and La. Uncommon. Naturalized or adven- 

 ive from Europe. May -Aug. 



14. Rumex pulcher L. Fiddle Dock. (I. F. f. 13 12.) Perennial, dark 

 green; stem slender, erect or procumbent, diffusely branched, 3-9 dm. long, the 

 branches spreading. Leaves oblong, or some of the lower fiddle-shaped, 2.5- 

 15 cm. long, long-petioled, obtuse at the apex, cordate at the base; upper oblong 

 or oblong-lanceolate, 2.5-7.5 cm. long, usually narrowed at both ends; petioles 

 more or less pubescent; panicle loose; racemes long, divergent, sometimes reflexed, 

 much interrupted, rather leafy; flowers few in the whorls; pedicels equalling the 

 calyx- wings, jointed at or below the middle; wings ovate or oblong-ovate, 4 mm. 

 long, truncate at the base, one larger than the others or all three of different sizes, 

 fringed with spine-like teeth, usually two, sometimes one or all three bearing 

 tubercles; achene 2 mm. long, pointed, reddish, its faces concave. In waste 

 places. Va. to Fla. and La. Also on the Pacific Coast and in ballast about the 

 northern seaports. Naturalized from Europe. June-Sept. 



15. Rumex obtusifblius L. Broad- leaved or Bitter Dock. (I. F. f. 

 13 13.) Perennial, glabrous, dark green; stem stout, erect, more or less scurf}' 

 above. 6-12 dm. tall. Lower leaves oblong- lanceolate, 15-35 cm - l° n g> long-petioled, 

 all cordate or rounded at the base, obtuse or acute at the apex, the upper lanceo- 

 late or oblong-lanceolate, 5-15 cm. long, short-petioled. somewhat undulate or 

 crisped; panicle rather open; racemes nearly erect, continuous or interrupted be- 

 low; flowers loosely whorled; pedicels slender, somewhat longer than the calyx - 

 wings, jointed below the middle; wings hastate, 4-5 mm. long, fringed with a few 

 spreading spiny teeth, one of them bearing an oblong tubercle; achene 2 mm. 

 long, pointed, dark red, its faces concave, its angles slightly margined. In waste 

 places. N. S. and N. B. to Ore., south to Fla. and Tex. Naturalized from Eu- 

 rope. Native also of Asia. June-Aug. 



16. Rumex persicarioides L. Golden Dock. (I. F. f. 1314.) Annual, 

 pubescent, pale green; stem rather stout, erect and simple, or diffusely branched, 

 3-9 dm. high, sometimes spreading or creeping, very leafy. Leaves lanceolate, or 

 oblong. 2.5-30 cm. long, narrowed at the base, or sometimes cordate, or sagittate, 

 acute at the apex, undulate; panicle simple or compound ; racemes erect, leafy- 

 bracted, mostly interrupted; flowers densely whorled; pedicels slender, 1-1^ times 

 as long as the calyx-wings, jointed at the base ; wings oblong, 2 mm. long, with 1-3 

 bristles on each margin, each bearing an ovoid or oblong callosity; achene less 

 than 2 mm. long, pointed, reddish, its faces convex, its angles slightly margined. 

 On sandy shores, N. B. to Va., extending across the continent through British 

 America, south in the interior to Kan. and N. Mex. and on the Pacific Coast to 

 Calif. Has been confounded with R. tnaritimus L. of the Old World. July-Oct. 



4. OXYRIA Hill. 



Low fleshy glabrous perennial herbs, with erect stems. Leaves mostly basal, 

 long-petioled, reniform or orbicular, cordate, palmately nerved, with cylindric 

 ocreae. Flowers perfect, green, in terminal panicled racemes. Calyx 4-parted, 

 the outer segments smaller than the inner; stamens 6, included; filaments short, 

 subulate, glabrous. Ovary I -celled; ovule solitary; style 2-parted; stigmas fim- 

 briate, persistent on the large wings of the fruiting calyx. Achene lenticular. 

 Embryo straight, borne in the centre of the endosperm. [Greek, sour, from the 

 acid leaves.] Two known species, the following, and one in the Himalayas. 



1. Oxyria digyna (L.) Camptdera. Mountain Sorrel. (I. F. f. 13 15.) 

 Rootstock large, chaffy; stems scape-like, simple or sparingly branched, leafless or 

 nearly so, 5-30 cm. tall. Leaves reniform or orbicular-reniform, 1-3.5 cm - wide, 

 undulate, sometimes emarginate at the apex, the basal long-petioled; ocreae ob- 

 lique, loose, racemes many-flowered; flowers slender-pedicelled; segments oblong, 

 the inner erect, the outer reflexed in fruit; achene ovoid, smooth, surrounded by a 

 broad membranous wing. Greenland and Lab. to Alaska, south to the White Mts. 

 of N. H. and in the Rocky Mts. to Colo. Also in northern Europe and Asia. 

 July- Sept. 



5. FAGOPYRUM Gaertn. 



Annual or perennial rather fleshy usually glabrous leafy herbs, with erect, 

 striate or grooved stems. Leaves alternate, petioled, hastate or deltoid, with ob- 



