beautifulflowers032840mbp

150 BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS OF KASHMIR [Plate 35
membranous, lance-shaped, 2-nerved, tip fringed. Flowers in
axillary clusters. Flower-stalks short, jointed at the tip.
Fruiting perianth pitcher-shaped, lobes rounded, shorter than
the tube, 2 outer awned at the back. Nut rij in. long,
broadest in the middle, black, smooth.
Locality. Zaskar ;
Baltistan.
Distribution. Kashmir to Kunawer, Afghanistan, Persia.
Polygonum Persicaria, Linn.
Common Red Persicaria.
An erect or ascending annual, 1-2 ft. high. Stems branched,
with swollen nodes. Leaves flat, egg-shaped, lance-shaped,
spotted, more or less stalkless, sharp-pointed, fringed with
hairs, downy, dotted below, without glands. Stipules loose,
strongly fringed with hairs. Flowers in dense racemes or
spikes, compact, egg-shaped to oblong, cylindrical, terminal
and axillary, the lateral stalkless. Perianth -segments red or
white, smooth (like the stalk), as a rule without glands.
Stamens 5-8 ; outer anthers opening inwards, the inner outwards.
Styles 2-3, united half-way. Fruit plano-convex or
3-angled, flattened, gibbous on one side, hardly covered by
the perianth -segments.
Locality. At elevations up to 14,000 ft.
Distrilmtion. Kashmir, N. and W. Asia, Africa, Europe,
N. America.
Polygonum plebejum, R.Br.
A most variable plant. Stems and branches prostrate,
6-24 in. high, leafy, round, finely grooved, smooth, flowering
throughout their length. Leaves -f in. long, oblong,
or linear, or inversely egg-shaped, stalkless or almost so.
Stipules tubular, short, transparent, torn to the middle,
fringed, nerves none or faint. Flowers minute, white or pale
pink, in axillary clusters half hidden among the stipules.
Perianth T\j in. long or less, divided nearly to the base into
4 or 5 broad or narrow lobes. Stamens 4 or 5. Styles 3,
free. Nut 3-angled, smooth, shining.
Locality. Up to 6,000 ft.
Distribution. Throughout tropical India, Kashmir to
Bhutan, Afghanistan, Egypt, tropical and S.Africa, Madagascar,
Java, Philippines, Australia.