Bumex.'] 
CIII. POLYGON ACEzE. 
1275 
4. R. : obtusifblius (leaves obtuse), Linn. Meissn. in DC. Prod. xiv. 58. 
The Broad-leaved Dock. Stems 2 or 8ft. high, erect, slightly branched, round, 
furrowed, leafy, rough chiefly in the upper part. Radical leaves often very large, 
blunt at the apex, cordate at the base, on long stalks, the upper ones narrower 
And more pointed, on shorter stalks, all of a deep-green colour and veiny, the 
edges crenate and in some degree crisped. Root black, yellowish within. Flower- 
clusters on the lower part of the branches of the panicle distant and leafy. 
Outer perianth-segments narrow, nearly as long as the inner ones ; the inner ones 
oblong, obtuse, veiny, subsequently furnished on the margins with from 2 to 4 
unequal teeth-like lobes, one or all of them also bearing on the centre near the 
base an oval coloured tubercle. 
Hab.: Naturalized about the Brisbane Paver and other southern parts. 
5. H.. halophilus (a maritime plant), F. v. M. Fragm. iv. 48 ; Benth. FI. 
Austr. v. 265. An erect branching herb of about 1ft., some specimens appearing 
annual. Leaves linear or lanceolate, acute or obtuse, the lower ones on long 
petioles sometimes cordate at the base and 2 to 3 or even 4in. long, the upper 
■ones small, but all or nearly all longer than the flowers. Flowers very small 
and very numerous, in dense axillary clusters crowded on the greater part of 
the plant. Inner segments of the fruiting perianth sometimes under 1 line 
long, with long fine points and marginal teeth, sometimes rather longer and 
broader with shorter and more rigid points and teeth, always with a very 
prominent ovoid tubercle on the midrib. 
Hab.: Gulf of Carpentaria, F. v. Mueller; Flinders and Burnett Rivers, F. v. Mueller; 
Darling Downs, Lau. 
This plant has entirely the aspect of the European /?. maritimus, Linn., and may be a variety 
only. The teeth of the fruiting perianth-segments although fine and long are however always 
much less so than in the northern plant. — Benth. 
6. It. bidens (2-toothed), B. Br. Prod. 421 ; Benth. FI. Austr. v. 205. A 
perennial with a thick stem, rooting at the joints and creeping in the mud, 
throwing up numerous erect thick flowering branches of 1 to 2ft. Leaves 
lanceolate, the lower ones often 8 to lOin. long, rather broad and obtuse, the 
upper ones narrower and more acute, passing into the small almost linear floral 
leaves. Flowers densely clustered, unisexual, but the two sexes mixed in the 
same clusters, the lower ones chiefly females the upper ones chiefly or entirely 
males. Perianth-segments at the time of flowering almost petaloid and not very 
unequal. Inner segments of the fruiting perianth variable in size, usually 2 to 
3 lines long, very broad, with 1 or 2 rigid teeth on each side near the base, the 
midrib more or less thickened into a tubercle. — Meissn. in DC. Prod. xiv. 73 ; 
Hook. f. FI. Tasm. i. 305. 
Hab. : Darling Downs. 
7. R. acetosella (plant sour), Linn.; Meissn. in DC. Prod. xiv. 63; 
Bcntli. FI. Austr. v. 265. A slender plant with a creeping rhizome and erect 
stems from a few inches to nearly 1ft. high, often turning red. Leaves narrow- 
lanceolate or linear, some or all hastate or sagittate at the base ; stipules usually 
silvery and very thin. Flowers small, dioecious, in slender terminal panicles, 
the clusters numerous, few-flowered, without floral leaves. Perianth-segments 
broad, entire, not very unequal, the inner ones in the fruiting perianth closed 
over the seed but scarcely enlarged. 
A plant probably of European and Asiatic origin, now common in most temperate and 
subtropical regions of the globe, and Mr. Bentham says evidently introduced into 
Australia, from which I disagree as it was common in South Australia at a very early date (1840). 
