POLYGONUM Perficaria.
Spotted P e r jic a n d .
OCTANDRIA Trigynia.
Gen. Char. Cal. coloured, in 5 fegments, permanent.
Seed folitary, fuperior, angular, in veiled with the
calyx. Stam. and Pift. uncertain in number.
Spec. Char. Flowers with fix ftamina, and ftyle
divided half way down. Spikes ovato-oblong,
eredt. Common flower-ftalks fmooth. Stipulse
, fringed.
Syn. Polygonum Perficaria. Linn. Sp. P i. 5 18 . Sm.
F I. B rit. 42,4. Hudf. 169. With. 380. Hull. 83.
Relh. 159 . Sibth. 12 8 . Abbot. 88. Curt. Lond.
fa fe . i. t. 2 3.
Perficaria maculofa. R aii Syn. 14 5 .
A C O M M O N weed in ditches, we t fields, and m a rlh y
p lace s, flow e rin g cop iou fly in Ju l y and A u g u ft .
R o o t an n u al, fibrous. S tem eredt, th ou gh fometimes ta k in g
root from one or tw o o f the lowe rmoft jo in t s , as in others o f this
g en u s , about two feet h ig h , alternately branched , le a fy , round,
fm o o th , often reddith, gen e ra lly fwelled above each jo in t .
L e a v e s a lm o ftfe ffile , lanc eolate , entire, rou gh on th e nerve and
m a rg in , fo r th e mo ft part mark ed w ith a b la ck fpot lik e a
ho rfe -flio e . Stipulas tu b u lar, m em b ran o us , fringed , furroundin
g th e Item. Sp ik e s te rm in al or a x illa ry , on lon g fmooth
fta lk s , eredt, c y lin d r ic a l, obtufe, denfe, compofed o f numerous
rofe-coloured or w h itifh flow ers. S tam in a 6 , about as long
as the c a ly x . S ty le clo ven o n ly h a l f w a y dow n, fometimes
3 - c le f t . Se ed o b feu re ly trian gular.
T h e r e is a varie ty w ith leaves ho ary ben e ath, and another
w h o fe leaves have a filv e ry hue lik e the W h it e W illo w . T h e fe
are noticed b y D illen iu s in R a y ’ s Synopjis 1 4 5 , n. 3 and 7 , and
are v e ry com m on . T h e curious bo tan ift is m u ch indebted to
th e late in g en io u s M r . C u r tis fo r afe e rtaining the lim its between
th is fp ecies and P . lapathifolium (his penfylvanicurri) whofe
m an y varie tie s m a y alway s be kn ow n b y th e ir rough g land ular
flow e r -fta lk s , deeply divided fty le , and g en e ra lly beardlefs
ftipulas.
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