POLYGONUM 
1 16 
(a) P. persicaria var. elatum Grenier et Godron FI. France iii, 48 (1855); Syme Eng. Bot. viii, 74 (1868) 
excl. syn. Persoon et syn. Meisner ; P. persicaria subsp. biforme Fries FI. Suec. Mant. ii, 28 (1839)!; P. persi- 
caria var. elatius Meisner in DC. Prodr. xiv, 118 (1856); P. persicaria subsp. nodosum Dyer and Trimen in Journ. 
Bot. ix, 37 (1871) partim; P. persicaria race biforme Rouy FI. France xii, 97 (1910). 
leones: — Curtis FI. Lond. i, t. 72 as P. persicaria ; Smith Eng. Bot. t. 756, as P. persicaria. 
Camb. Brit. FI. ii. Plate 123. (b, c, d.) 
Exsiccata : — Fries, x, 57, as P. persicaria var. biforme ; Reichenbach, 773, as P. persicaria ; v. Heurck et 
Martinis, iv, 185. 
Stem tall (3—10 dm.), branches less divaricate than in the succeeding varieties. Laminae 
lanceolate-acuminate, longer and relatively narrower. Ochreae rather closely appressed. Spikes less 
divaricate, longer, lateral ones peduncled. 
Chiefly in damp places ; ditch banks and arable land. Cornwall, Sussex, Surrey, Middlesex, Cambridgeshire, 
Essex, Northamptonshire, Herefordshire, Warwickshire, North Riding of Yorkshire; Glamorganshire; Perthshire, 
and doubtless elsewhere. 
Europe. 
(b) P. persicaria var. agreste Meisner in DC. Prodr. xiv, 118 (1856); P. persicaria subsp. agreste Fries FI. 
Suec. Mant. ii, 27 (1839)!; P. persicaria var. genuinum Grenier et Godron FI. France iii, 48 (1855); Syme Eng. 
Bot. viii, 74 (1868) ? excl. syn. Persoon; P. persicaria subsp. persicaria-verum Dyer and Trimen in fourn. Bot- 
ix, 37 (1871) excl. syn. Syme; P. persicaria race agreste Rouy FI. France xii, 97 (1910). 
leones: — FI. Dan. t. 702, as P. persicaria ; Syme Eng. Bot. viii, t. 1237, as P. persicaria var. genuinum ; 
Reichenbach Iconogr. t. 491, fig. 684, as P. persicaria. 
Camb. Brit. FI. ii. Plate 123. {a, e, f g.) 
Exsiccata: — Billot, 1063, as P. persicaria-, Fries, iv, 74, as P. persicaria. 
Plant smaller than var. elatum. Ochreae looser. Laminae larger. Spikes shorter. Pedicels shorter. 
This is the common form of the species in the British Isles. 
(c) P. persicaria var. ruderale Meisner in DC. Prodr. xiv, 118 (1856); P. persicaria race ruderale Rouy FI. 
France xii, 98 (1910). 
The smallest of the three varieties. Stem decumbent, branched from the base ; branches 
diffuse ; nodes little swollen. Laminae narrowly lanceolate or oblong, about 2 '5— 4^0 cm. long and 
relatively narrower than in the other varieties, usually pubescent on both sides, often not blotched. 
Spikes short, often interrupted below. 
We suspect this to be merely a state of dry habitats. 
Usually in dry waste places ; Cornwall, Berkshire, and doubtless elsewhere. 
Europe. 
Faeroes, Iceland, Scandinavia, Denmark, Germany, France, central Europe, Russia; southern 
Europe ; northern Africa ; Asia ; America. 
P. hydropiper y persicaria (p. 1 1 9) ; P. laxiflorum x persicaria (p. 120); P. minus y persicaria 
(p. 122). 
Series iii. Lapathifolia 
Lapathifolia nobis. 
For characters, see page 114. 
British species of Persicariae 
9. P. lapathifolium (see below). Laminae usually blotched. Peduncles glandular. Perianth 
usually green, glandular. 
10. P. nodosum (p. 117). Laminae usually not blotched. Peduncles glandular. Perianth 
pink or pink and greenish, glandular. 
9. POLYGONUM LAPATHIFOLIUM. Pale-flowered Persicaria. Plate 124 
Persicaria mitis major foliis pallidioribus Bobart in Ray Syn. ed. 3, 145 (1724). 
P°lyg onum lapathifolium L. Sp. PI. 360 (1753) partim; Aiton Hort. Kew. ii, 30 (1789) excl. var. /3 ; 
Smith, FI. Brit. 425 (1800)!; Eng. FI. ii, 234 (1824); P. pennsylvanicum Hudson FI. Angl. 148 (1762); 
P. persicaria var. pennsylvanicum Hudson FI. Angl. ed. 2, 170 (1778); P. pallidum Withering Bot. Arr. ed. 3, 
