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Plate 55] POLYGONUM 145
Polygonum Convolvulus, Linn. Black Bindweed.
(Called
Convolvulus, bindweed, on account of the twining habit of
the plant.)
An annual, prostrate or twining herb. Stem 1-4 ft. high,
angles slightly hairy. Leaves li-4 in. long, arrow-heart"
shaped, gradually long-pointed, slightly hairy beneath ; stalks
slender. Stipules short. Flowers in axillary clusters and
terminal cymes, which are almost erect, short, slender ;
flowerstalks
bent back, short, jointed above the middle. Three outer
sepals bluntly keeled, rarely winged ; segments J in. long in
fruit, blunt, green with white margins. Nut T\J in. long, black,
3 -angled, finely furrowed.
Locality.- At higher altitudes.
Distribution. From Kashmir to Kunawer, N. and W. Asia,
N. Africa, Europe.
Polygonum delicatulum,
Meissn.
A slender annual, 4-12 in. high, quite hairless, tufted.
Stems filiform. Leaves stalkless or almost so, i-i in. long,
elliptic, egg-shaped, or egg-heart-shaped, distant, nerves
obscure ;
stalk rarely rt> in. long. Stipules 2-partite, segments
blunt or sharp-pointed, entire or crenate. Flowers in axillary
clusters. Perianth minute, 5-cleft, -?-> in. long, segments blunt,
or sharp-pointed, 2 outer smaller. Stamens 2-3, very short.
Nut very variable in size, egg-lance-shaped, twice or thrice as
long as the perianth, pale, leathery, the 3 angles very prominent,
the faces concave. Seed loose in the nut.
Locality. Nund Kol on wet rocks in
; alpine region.
Distribution. Alpine Himalaya, from Kashmir to Sikkim
10,000-16,000 ft.
Polygonum dumetorum, Linn.
Climbing Bush Knotweed.
(From dumctum, scrub,
bushes, referring to the predilection of the
plant for thickets.)
A climbing or twining, annual herb. Stem 2-3 ft. high,
wiry, furrowed, round or angled. Leaves heart-shaped, arrowshaped.
Perianth in fruit broadly oblong or inversely eggshaped
; 3 outer sepals broadly winged. Flower-stalks hair-like,
slender, jointed below the middle. Nut i in. long, smooth,
highly polished.
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