428 
LXXXII. POLYGONACEiE 
stalked, oblong, 1-2 ft., cordate ; upper sessile, smaller, lanceolate. 
Flowers 2-sexual, in crowded whorls forming leafy panicles, 12-18 
in. long, often very dense in fruit. Fruiting sepals orbicular, entire, 
cordate, the mid-vein usually thickened and forming a small 
tubercle like a grain of wheat. 
Kashmir to Kumaon ; July-October. — W. Himalaya, 6000-9000 ft. — 
W. Asia, S. Europe. 
2. Rumex nepalensis, Spreng. ; FI. Br. Ind. v. 60. Stems 
l|-4 ft., robust ; branches stiff, spreading. Leaves entire, 
pointed ; lower ones long-stalked, oblong-ovate, 6 x3 in. or larger, 
. cordate ; upper nearly sessile, smaller, narrowed to the base ; 
uppermost sessile, lanceolate. Flowers 2-sexual, in whorls forming 
long, nearly leafless racemes. Fruiting sepals broadly ovate, 
fringed with comb-like, hooked teeth, the mid-vein of one thickened 
and forming an oblong tubercle. 
Simla, common on roadsides ; May-October. — Temperate Himalaya, 4000- 
9000 ft. — Hills in S.E. India. — W. Asia, S. Africa. 
Habit of R. obtusifolius, Linn. Common on waste ground in England. 
3. Rumex hastatus, Don ; FI. Br. Ind. v. 60, including R. 
scutatus, Linn. ; FI. Br. Ind. v. 60. Stems 1-2 ft. ; branches 
numerous, slender, erect. Leaves stalked, entire, broadly tri- 
angular, long-pointed, l-2|x|-2 in. ; or hastately 3-lobed, the 
lobes narrow or almost linear. Flowers polygamous, in small 
whorls racemed and forming panicles, often dense in fruit. 
Fruiting sepals orbicular, pink, not fringed, notched at both 
ends. (Fig. 136.) 
Simla, common in fields ; May-October. — W. Himalaya, 1000-8000 ft. — 
W. Asia, S. Europe. 
R. vesicarius, Linn., a pale green herb Avith stalked, ovate leaves, and 
orbicular fruiting sepals \ in. diam., is common as an escape near houses. 
LXXXIII. PIPERACE^E 
Aromatic herbs or shrubs. Leaves alternate or whorled, undivided, 
entire, dotted. Flowers minute, 1- or 2-sexual, crowded in stalked, 
catkin-like spikes, each flower in the axil of a very small bract. 
Perianth none. Stamens 2 or 3, hypogynous ; anthers 2 -celled. 
Ovary of 3 carpels united towards the base, each containing many 
ovules, or 1 -celled and 1-ovuled ; styles free and erect or the 
stigmas sessile. Fruit of 3 many-seeded follicles, or a spike of 
1 -seeded berries. — A small Order confined to tropical regions, 
most abundant in America. 
