li'JCKWHEAT FA^ilLT. 



281 



Water-pepper Polygoxum. Water-pepper. Smartrweed. 



Annual. Steml-'2 feet high, more or less branched, sometimes decumbent, often pur- 

 plish. Leaves 2-4 inches long, acute at each end, subsessile ; sheaths tubular, somewhat 

 inflated, hairv, fringed with bristles. the length of the tube. Racemes 2-4 inches 



long, slender and interrupted, at first nodding, fmally erect; fascicles 2-4-flowered; 

 Jioicers greenish with white edges ; pedicels proceeding from bristly-ciliate sheathing Iradis. 

 Styles 2-0. Ac/ie?ui(?n flattish or obtusely triangular. 



Moist w-aste grounds : introduced from Europe. Aug. - Sept. 



Ohs. A Tvorthless weed, as most 

 of the species are ; and it is, more- 

 over, a highly acrid plant, some- 

 times cansing obstinate ulcerative 

 inflammation when incautiously ap- 

 plied to the skin. The medical 

 men of the Middle Ages highly 

 extolled it for its remedial quali- 

 ties, bu*L it is not used at present. 



^ " Flcwers axillary, 2-3 together. 



5. P. aviciila're, L- Stems pro- 

 cumbent or spreading ; leaves ses- 

 sile, lanceolate or oblong ; sheaths 

 lacerate ; stamens 5 - 8 ; akenes 

 tricjuetrous. 



Bird Polygoxum. Knot-grass. 

 Goose-grass. Door-weed. 



Annual. Stem Q-12 inches long, much 

 branched and spreading, smooth. Lea.res 

 % an inch to an inch long. Stipules whit 3. 

 Floivers green, edged with white, and often 

 tinged with pur'.ile'. small, subsessile. Fruit 

 enclosed in the calyx, dull, minutely v,-rin- 

 kled or granular under a lens. 



Yards and foot-paths. June-Au^. 



Obs. This humble weed is thor- 

 oughly naturalized, and is one of 

 the commonest everywhere about 

 dwellings. There are several vari- 

 eties, one of which, var. erectum, 

 is quite cx)mmon in rich shadv 

 places ; its stems are nearly erect, 

 1-2 inches in length. 



- 2 or 3 feet high, with oval leaveo 



Fig. ISl A branch of the Halberd-leaved Tcar-thumb (Polygonum arifolium.) 



