R U M E X sanguineus.
Bloody-veined Dock.
HEXANDRIA Trigynia.
Gen. Char. Cal. 3-leaved. Petals 3, closed. Seed 1,
superior, naked, triangular. Stigmas many-cleft.
Spec. Char. Valves entire, oblong, one of them at
least bearing a grain. Leaves lanceolate, somewhat
heart-shaped.
Syn. Rumex sanguineus. Linn. Sp. PI. 476. Sm. FI.
Brit. 390. Hods. 153. With. 353. Hull. 77.
Relh. 141. Sihth. 118.
Lapathum folio acuto rubente. Raii Syn. 142.
/S.Var. viridis. Sibth. 118. Abbot. 81.
Rumex acutus. Curt. Lond. fasc. 3. t. 2 1 ? With. 354.
Wade Dull. 103. Huds. 155. (2.
R. Nemolapathum. Ehrh. Phytoph. n. 94. Linn.
Suppl. 212.
Lapathum viride. Dill, in Raii Syn. 141.
F o u n d occasionally in groves and waste places, flowering
in July. Mr. W . Borrer sent it from Sussex, and the lady
of the Rev. Dr. Abbot observed it on Headington hill near
Oxford.
The root is perennial, tap-shaped. Stem 2 or 3 feet high,
straight, branched, angular, leafy, smooth, reddish. Leaves
all upon footstalks, lanceolate, smooth, veiny, slightly crisped
at the edge; the lowermost large, and more or less heart-
shaped at their base. Flowers in alternate drooping clusters
ranged along the branches, and almost destitute of leaves.
Calyx quite entire, as well as the petals, which are oblong,
each marked with a red swelling rib. One of these ribs
(rarely more than one) bears a very large red grain or tubercle,
conspicuous as the fruit ripens. The stalks and veins of the
leaves are remarkable for their deep-red juice. In the variety /3
however, which ought perhaps to be reckoned the original
species, the leaves are green. This variety, common in woods,
has often been confounded with R. acutus, t. 724, which differs
in having more zigzag and leafy branches, shorter and
smaller valves, all constantly bearing grains, and in its place
of growth, which is more wet and marshy.