Flora Medica

POLYGONACE^;.FL Lond. t. 22. Eng. Fl. ii. 192. A common weed all overEurope. (Dock.)Root black, many-headed, yellowish within. Stems a yard high,erect, branched, round, furrowed, leafy, rough chiefly in the upper partRadical leaves very large, stalked, deep green, veiny, heart-shaped,more or less blunt ; the rest narrower, more pointed, on shorter stalks;all crenate and crisped in some degree. Clusters long, of numerous,many-flowered whorls, of which the lower ones are most distant, andleafy. Inner sepals large, oblong, obtuse, veiny ; subsequently furnishedwith 3 sharp teeth at each side, one of them also bearing a brown, orreddish tubercle, of a smaller proportion than most species. Fruitrather large, acute, with 3 sharp angles. Smith. Properties similarto those of the last species. The root in powder also employed as adentrifice.745, R. Acetosa Linn, sp.pl 481. Eng. Bot. t. 127. Woodv.t. 69. Eng. Fl. ii. 196. A common plant in pastures and onbanks. (Common Sorrel.)Root long and tapering, astringent, somewhat woody. Herb smooth,powerfully and agreeably acid. Stem 1-2 feet high, erect, simple, leafy,striated. Lower leaves stalked, somewhat ovate, arrow-shaped, with2 lateral teeth ; upper sessile, more oblong, and narrower. Stipuletubular, membranous, fringed. Clusters erect, compound, whorled,leafless. Flowers dioecious. Males green with a reddish tinge. Innersepals ovate, rather larger than the outer. Females rather redder. Innersepals ovate, obtuse, red, entire, each bearing an oblong pale tubercle.Smith. An agreeably acid plant.It acts as a refrigerant and diuretic.A decoction of the leaves may be employed in the form of a whey asa cooling and pleasant drink in febrile and inflammatory diseases.746. R. alpinus Linn. sp. pi. 481. Campd. monogr. 105. t.2.f. 1. N. and E. pi. med. t. 110 and 111. Alps of Europe, theCrimea, the summits of Caucasus. (Monk's Rhubarb.)Radical leaves cordate-ovate, obtuse, wrinkled, wavy, with the veinsof the under side downy those of the stem ; unequal at the base ; theuppermost lanceolate. Whorls close together, somewhat leafless, collectedin a dense panicle. Flowers polygamous. Inner sepals becomingcartilaginous, cordate-ovate, rather blunt, nearly entire, naked. Rootthick fleshy, purgative like Rhubarb, only in a much less degree.Linnaeus by an inconceivable mistake took it for a variety of Rheumrhaponticum, adding " easdem esse species"nullus quidem neget, quistructuram plantae utriusque inspexerit! He however subsequentlychanged his opinion.POLYGONUM.Calyx turbinate, more or less coloured, in 5 deep, ovate, obtuse,permanent segments. Filaments various in number, 5, 6, 7,or 8, awl-shaped, very short. Anthers roundish, incumbent.Ovary roundish, either triangular or compressed. Styles generally3 in;those with a compressed ovary only 2, thread-shaped,very short, in some species partly combined. Stigmas simple.360