R. obtusifòlius, L. (Bitter Dock.) Stem roughish; lowest leaves ovate-heart-shaped, obtuse, rather downy on the veins beneath, somewhat wavy-margined, the upper oblong-lanceolate, acute; whorls loose and distant; valves ovate-halberd-shaped, with some sharp awl-shaped teeth at base, strongly reticulated, one of them principally grain-bearing.—Fields, etc., common.
R. sanguíneus, L. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, often fiddle shaped, wavy-margined; whorls distant, in long slender leafless spikes; pedicels very short, jointed at base; valves narrowly oblong, obtuse, entire, one at least grain-bearing; veins of the leaf red, or green.—Waste and cultivated ground.
R. conglomeràtus, Murray. (Smaller Green Dock.) Like the last, but leaves not fiddle-shaped, and panicle leafy; pedicels short, jointed below the middle; valves acutish, all grain-bearing.—Moist places.
[*][*] Annuals, low; valves bearing long awns or bristles.
6. R. marítimus, L. (Golden Dock.) Minutely pubescent, diffusely branched, 6–12´ high; leaves lance-linear, wavy-margined, the lower auricled or heart-shaped at base; whorls excessively crowded in leafy and compact or interrupted spikes; valves rhombic-oblong, lance-pointed, each bearing 2–3 long awn-like bristles on each side, and a large grain on the back.—Sea-shore, Mass. to N. C.; also from Ill. to Minn., and westward.
§ 2. ACETÒSA. (Sorrel.) Flowers diœcious, small, in a terminal naked panicle; herbage sour; some leaves halberd-shaped; smooth perennials, spreading by running rootstocks, flowering in spring.
7. R. hastátulus, Baldw. Stem simple, 1–2° high; leaves nearly as in the next; pedicels jointed at or below the middle; valves of the fruiting calyx round-heart-shaped, thin, finely reticulated, naked, many times larger than the achene. (R. Engelmanni, Ledeb.)—S. W. Ill. to E. Kan., Tex., and Fla.; Riverhead, Long Island (Young).
R. Acetosélla, L. (Field or Sheep Sorrel.) Low (6–12´ high); leaves narrow-lanceolate or linear, halberd-form, at least those of the root, the narrow lobes entire; pedicels jointed with the flower; valves scarcely enlarging in fruit, ovate, naked.—Abundant everywhere. (Nat. from Eu.)
R. Acetòsa, L. (Sorrel Dock.) Like the last, but taller (1–3° high); leaves oblong or broadly lanceolate; valves enlarging in fruit and orbicular, the outer reflexed.—Charlotte, Vt., and Penn Yan, N. Y. (Nat. from Eu.)
4. POLÝGONUM, Tourn. Knotweed.