176 THE LADIES' FLOWER-GARDEN 
gardens, and the berries were used for colouring made-dishes in cookery. The seeds should be sown in March or 
April, and when the plants come up they should be thinned out ; observing, however, that they will not bear 
transplanting after the flower-stem has begun to grow. They require frequent watering, and if the flower-stems 
are supported with sticks, so that the branches may spread out handsomely on each side, the plants will look 
very well when in fruit. 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
POLYGONACEiE. 
BssENTUL Chaiucter. — Perianth 1 -leaved, divided, imbricated in 
eestivation. Stamens definite* inserted In the base of the perianth. 
Ovary free, 1-seeded ; ovule erect. Styles numerous. Albumen 
farinaceous; embryo inverted, generally on one side. Leaves altei^ 
nate, sheathing at the base or adnate to the intra-foliaceous sheath. 
Flowers usually of separate sexes, generally racemose. — (G. Don.) 
Description, &c. — Several very well-known plants are classed by modem botanists in this order ; tlie most 
remarkable of which are the Buckwheat {Polygonum Fagopyrum), tart Rhubarb {Rheum undulatum), Docks 
and Sorrels, &c. The only ornamental annual plants in the order are the Persicarias. 
GENUS I. 
POLYGONUM, Lin. THE POLYGONUM. 
Lin. Spst. OCTANDRIA TRIGYNIA. 
Generic Chaiucter. — Calyx 5-parted, coloured. Corolla none. Seed 1, angular. — {Lin.) 
Dbsceiption, &c. — The genus Polygonum comprises many British weeds, particularly the Knot-grass (P, 
arieulare), which is so common in garden walks ; the showy-Water pepper {P. am,phihiurn),so abundant on the 
large piece of water in Kensington Gardens ; and the common Persicaria. The Buck-wheat, as we have already 
observed, also belongs to this genus. The only plant, however, included in it which is cultivated in gardens, is 
the Garden Persicaria (P. orientale). 
1.— POLYGONUM ORIENTALE, Jacq. THE GARDEN PERSICARIA. 
Engravings. — Bot. Mag. t. 213. 
Specific Character. — Stem erect. Leaves ovate. Stamens 7, styles 2. Stipules hairy, and hypocratiform. 
Description, &c. — The Garden Persicaria is a very showy plant, growing, in favourable situations, eight or 
ten feet high, with loose branched spikes of deep rose-coloured flowers. The flowers are much larger than those 
of any other plant of the genus ; and the stipules show plainly the peculiarity of their construction, which 
modern botanists make one of the distinguishing characteristics of the order. This peculiarity is termed ochrea 
or boots, and it consists in the stipules being joined together round the stem, and forming a sort of tube for the 
joints to pass through. In the Garden Persicaria the stipules are so large, and so much wrinkled, that they look 
like deep ruffles. There are two varieties, one dwarf, and the other with white flowers. The species is a native 
of the East Indies, and also of Asia Minor and Egypt ; and it was introduced in 1707, by the Duchess of 
Beaufort. Though a native of hot countries, it is quite hardy ; and only requires sowing with the other 
annuals in March or April. It should be sowed thin, as the seeds keep well and generally all vegetate ; and 
when it comes up it should be thinned out, or left in a mass, according as it is wanted to grow high or spreading. 
It is an excellent plant for London gardens where tnere is room for it to grow, as it is not in the least degree 
injured by smoke. 
