I l l
Leaves simple, alternate, with cohesive stipules, deciduous or suh-
evergreen ; vvhen voung, rolled backwards. Flowers occasionally unisexual,
often in racemes.—Low suffruticose shrubs, natives of the South of Europe
and Asia, included in three genera, which are thus contradistinguished : —
'j ' r a g o p y ' r u m Bieh. Calyx 5-sepaled. Stamens 8 . Styles 3 .
/ Í t r a p h a ' x i s L , Calyx 5-sepaled. Stamens 6. Styles bifid.
C a l l i 'g o n u m L. Caíyx 5-parted. Stamens 16. Styles 3—4, united at
the base.
G e n u s I.
TRAGOPY'RUM Bieb.
J&L
T h e G o a t -W h e a t .
T r ig y n i a .
Lin. Syst. Octândria
Identification. Bieb. Flor. Taurico-Caucas., 3. p. 284.
Svnonvme. Polygonum L in. llort. Ups. 95. ^
Derivation. Tragos, a goat, and puros, wheat. Thc 3-cornered fruits of such of the Bolygonàccre
as have them are comparable, with some allowance, to wheat ; and goats may feed upon those oj
the Tragopyrum, or upon the shrubs themselves ; or it may be that the name has
as one readily distinctive from the name Fagopÿrum, now the name of a genus that includes thc
different kinds of buck-wheat
Gen. Char., 4o. Calyx inferior, with sepals that are imbricate in æstivation,
permanent ; the two exterior smaller, the three interior investing the fruit,
which is an achenium, that is, 3-cornercd in a transverse section of it.
Stamens 8. Styles 3. (G. Don.)
Leaves simple, alternate, stipulate, deciduous or sub-evergreen ; spathulate.
Flowers in axillary raceme.s. — Shrubs, small, sub-evergreen, suffrutescent;
natives ofthe South of Europe, Asia, and America; propagated by
seeds or layers in dry soil.
The species are extremely interesting and beautiful little shrubs, and it is
much to be regretted that thev are so very seldom seen in collections. Though
they require heath soil, and some little time to be firmly established, yet
when once they are so, from their compact neat habit of growth, very littie
care will be necessary afterwards. They never can require much pruning ;
are quite hardy ; and, provided the soil be not allowed to get too dry in the
heat of summer, they are always certain of flowering freely.
tv » * 1. T. l a n c e o l a ' t u m Bieb. The lanceolate-/^rtü<?Z Goat-Wheat.
Identification. Bieb. Fl. Taurico-Caucas.
Sunonvmes. Polygonum fl-utéscens Willd. Sp. PÏ. 2.
Engravings. Gmel. Sib., 3. t. 12. 'ngravings. f. 2. ; Bot. Reg., t.
Spec. Char., cÿc. Stem spreading widely.
Leaves lanceolate, tapered to both ends,
flat. Ochrea lanceolate, shorter than the
internode. The 2 exterior sepals reflexed,
and the 3 interior ones obcordate.
Flowers octandrous, trigynous. A low,
branchy, sub-evergreen shrub. Siberia and
Dahuria. Height 1ft. to 2 ft. Introd. 1770,
but rare in collections, Flowers whitish
and rose-coloured; July and August.
Branches twiggy. Leaf with a frosty hue,
spathulate-lanceolate, nearly 1 in. long, several
440. ; strauchartiger Knöterig, Ger.
i4. ; and o u r /g . 1322.
times longer than broad ; its edge obscurely
indented. The petiole short. The
calyxes are whitish, variegated with rose
colour, and persistent ; and of tlie 5 sepals
to each flower, the 3 that invest the ovary
1322. T . lanceolàtum.
after the flowering tacome more entirely rosy. The pedicels, erect while
bearing the flower, after the flowering become deflexed, and render the fruit
pendulous. Ihe p.ant forms a hemispherical bush 2 or 3 feet high ; which
during great / r t of July and August, is covered with its beautiful white
towers, tinged with pink ; and forms a truly admirable oluect. It thrives
b e / in peat soil, and is worthy of a prominent place in the most select
collections of shrubs.
-A 2 . T. p u x i f o ' l i u m B i e b . The Box-leaved Goat-Wheat.
Ideniification. Bieb. Fl. Taurico.Caucaa
Synonymes. Polÿgonum crispulum var
caucàsicum Hoffmannscgg.
Sims Bot. Mag. t. 1CG5. ; P.
Engravings. Bot. Mag., t. 1065. ; aud our fig. 1323.
Spec. Char., Leaf obovate, obtuse, tipped with a
short mucro ; the lateral margins undulated and reflexed,
glabrous. Ociireas with 2 awns. A decumbent
shrub. Siberia. Stems 2 ft. Introduced in 1800.
Flowers white ; July. Fruit red ; ripe in September.
^ The leaves are of a light green colour, ratlier rounded
in outline, about 1 in. in diameter, and deciduous. The
flowers produced in long racemes, are nodding and
white. The fruit is enclosed by the 3 inner sepals, which
become, as the fruit ripens, of a rosy colour.
Jt 3. T. poLY'GA.«UM Spr. The polygamous-se.red Goat-Wheat.
Identification. Spreng. Syst. Veg., 2. p. 251.
f c S S . ' fr- fr™ '■ P'
Spec. Char., f r . Leaves spathulate-linear. Ociireas
lanceolate, shorter than the internodes. Flowers in
branched racemes, whose rachises are thread-shaped.
Styles distinct. ( S p r e n g . ) A diminutive upright shrub.
Carolina, in sandy wastes. Height 6 in. to I ft
Introduced in 1810. Flowers small, greenish white ■’
July and August. ’
T polygamum Spr. differs from T. lanceolàtum
Rich., especially in the following points: stem very
much branched ; leaf spathulate ; sexes polvgamous •
sepals expanded during the flowering ; and ochreas’
entire at the top. The polygamous condition of the
sexes consists m the flowers of the same plant being -
/m e bisexual, some female. In /g . 1324. a is a stamen
b the pistil, and c the bisexual flower. ’
T marUima, a species from North America, was sent
to the Horticultural Society by Mr. Douglas, in 1826.
G e n u s II.
1323. T. iuxifòlium.
1.121. T. poijgamum
¿TRAPHA'XIS L . T h e A t r a p i i I x i s . Lin. Syd. Hexândria Digynia.
Ml,nos a u ia n , from its coming up quickly from seed, viz. on the e i £ h day ° '»
Gcn. Char., f r . Calyx inferior, of ^ fo“ es, in an outer smaller pair, and an