POLYGONACEJS. 
271 
Order LXXXI. POLYGONACEJE. 
Flowers regular, usually hermaphrodite. Perianth- segments 5-6, 
free nearly or quite to the base, equal or unequal, usually petaloid. 
Stamens 5-8, hypogynous or perigynous ; filaments subulate ; anthers 
2-celled, dehiscing longitudinally. Ovary superior, 1-celled ; ovule 1, 
basal, orthotropous ; styles 2-3 ; stigmas capitate. Fruit an indehiscent 
nut, lenticular or triquetrous. Seed albuminous. — Herbs or shrubs, 
with alternate simple leaves, sheathing membranous stipules (ochrese) 
and small flowers variously arranged. Distrib. Cosmopolitan. 
Species 500. 
Perianth-segments all alike 1 . Polygonum. 
Inner perianth- segments becoming much larger than the outer * Kumex. 
1. POLYGONUM, Linn. 
Flowers hermaphrodite. Perianth-segments 5, oblong, petaloid, sub- 
equal. Stamens 5-8 ; filaments subulate, hypogynous. Ovary com- 
pressed or trigonous ; styles 2-3. Fruit triquetrous or lenticular. — 
Herbs, with alternate leaves, large membranous sheathing stipules 
(ochrese) and small flowers either in spikes or clustered in the axils 
of the leaves. Distrib. Cosmopolitan. Species 150. 
Trailing annual with flowers fascicled in the axils of the 
leaves 1 . P. avicuxare. 
Erect perennials with flowers in peduncled cylindrical 
spikes. 
Leaves bristle-ciliated 2. P. Poiretii. 
Leaves naked on the edge 3. P. senegalense. 
1. P. aviculare, Linn. var. P. Dryaiodri, Spreng. A trailing 
glabrous much-branched annual, with slightly zigzag purple stems. 
Leaves sessile, spreading, oblanceolate, 1-nerved, | in. long, the 
upper ones crowded ; ochrese small, lanceolate-deltoid, fringed at the 
tip. Flowers clustered in the axils of the leaves, nearly or quite 
sessile. Perianth in. long ; segments oblong, reddish-white, with 
a green keel. Nut triquetrous, as long as the perianth. P. Kox- 
burghii, Meisn. in DC. Prod. xiv. 93. P. hyssopifolium, Bojer , Hort. 
Maur. 271. 
Mauritius, in sandy soil. A very variable cosmopolitan weed. 
2. P. Poiretii, Meisn. in DC. Prod. xiv. 113. An erect perennial’ 
with stout nearly simple stems 2-3 feet high. Leaves lanceolate, 6-9 
in. long, 1-li in. broad at the middle, acuminate, ciliated with strong 
bristles on the edge and midrib and on the short petiole ; oehreae 
