beautifulflowers032840mbp

146 BEAUTIFUL FLOWBES OF KASHMIE [Plate 55
The perianth in fruit distinguishes this species from
P. Convolvulus.
Locality. Temperate regions.
Distribution. From Kashmir to Kumaon, 4,000-9,000 ft.,
N. and W. Asia, Europe.
Polygonum filicaule,
Wall.
(Filicaule from filum, thread, and caulis, stem, referring to the
slender stem.)
An annual herb. Stems nearly erect, very slender, strawlike,
tufted, 4-18 in. high, hairy below the joints and on the
upper parts, otherwise hairless. Leaves short-stalked, eggor
egg-lance-shaped, blunt or sharp-pointed, distant, rarely
1 in. long, soft. Stipules minute, 2 -parted, lobes hairless or
hairy. Flowers very small, white, short-stalked, in axillary and
terminal clusters. Perianth -fa in. long, 5-parted ; segments
rounded, 2 outer smaller. Stamens 3 or 4 ;
filaments very
short. Styles 3, minute, free. Nut 3-angled, pale, leathery,
faces concave. Seed loose in the nut.
Flowers. July, August.
Locality. Sonamarg ; Ladakh, 11,000-12,000 ft.
Distribution. Subalpine and alpine Himalaya, 9,000-
16,000 ft., from Kashmir to Sikkim.
Polygonum glaciale, Hook. f. Glacier Polygonum.
A dwarf, 2-4 in. high, hairless, somewhat fleshy annual.
Stems branched from the root ;
branches spreading. Leaves
J-f in. long, long-stalked, broadly egg-shaped, blunt, nerves
indistinct, surfaces finely granular when dry ;
stalk as long as
the blade, winged above. Stipules short, simple or 2-lobed,
hairless. Flower-heads small, #-1 in. diameter, stalkless or
stalked, without an involucral leaf, stalk glandular at the tip.
Bracts broadly egg-shaped, blunt, hairless, about as long as
the nut. Perianth membranous lobes almost
; equal, blunt.
'Stamens 5. Styles 2-3. Nut very small, closely invested by
the perianth -tube, black, finely streaked and dotted. Can be
distinguished from P. alatum by the long leaf-stalks.
Locality. At elevations of 8,400-12,000 ft.
Distribution. Alpine and subalpine Himalaya, from
Kashmir to Kumaon, up to 13,000 ft., Afghanistan.