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4 Leaves ovate to orbicular or sometimes lanceolate-elliptic (as in C. diversifolia); floral tube becoming fleshy, fruit not winged; [common in sandy coastal habitats, c. and s. FL] | |
4 Leaves long elliptic to widely lanceolate; floral tube not becoming fleshy; fruit 3-winged [rare escape, disturbed areas in s. FL] | |
6 Tepals 6, in 2 series of 3 each; plants with leaves basally disposed, the largest basal (these withering in some species later in the season); [tribe Rumiceae]. | |
7 Tepals foliose. | |
8 Fruit 3-winged; basal leaves very large, 20-40 cm wide; inner and outer tepals similar; [plant cultivated, rarely persistent or escaped] | |
9 Leaf blades not hastate or sagittate; plants synoecious (rarely with some dioecious or polygamo-monoecious individuals), the flowers normally bisexual (sometimes bisexual and unisexual flowers in the same inflorescence); fresh foliage “green” or bitter to taste | |
11 Stems with 4 obscure ribs or angles (or lacking apparent ribs); leaf venation parallel, with inconspicuous secondary veins, longitudinally plicate; anthers pink-purple | |
11 Stems with 8-16 distinct ribs; leaf venation pinnate, the secondary veins apparent; anthers whitish yellow | |
10 Flowers in diffuse axillary panicles, or in terminal or long-peduncled axillary racemes, corymbs, or heads; plants various, either erect or sprawling herbs, or erect, robust, and suffrutescent herbs, or climbing herbaceous, suffrutescent, or woody vines, or suffrutescent bushy herbs; leaves not jointed at base (except Polygonella). | |
13 Inflorescence corymbiform, terminal; achenes strongly exserted at maturity; tepals almost free, horizontally spreading, white, 3-4 mm long; [erect annual, uncommonly cultivated and rarely persistent or escaped]; [tribe Persicarieae] | |
13 Inflorescence paniculate, racemiform, or headlike, terminal and axillary; achenes enclosed in the perianth at maturity; tepals fused for much of their length, ascending, pink, green, or white. | |
14 Plants wiry-stemmed, woody vines with small leaves (< 2 cm long); flowers unisexual, the tubes of the pistillate flowers becoming fleshy in fruit | |
14 Plants herbs or with thick, suffrutescent to woody, stems with larger leaves; flowers bisexual or unisexual (if unisexual, then the tubes of the pitillate flowers not becoming fleshy). | |
15 Outer tepals neither keeled nor winged at maturity; inflorescence of spikelike racemes, heads, or sparse, interrupted racemes; [tribe Persicarieae] | |
15 Outer tepals keeled or winged at maturity; inflorescence a compound panicle of racemes; [tribe Polygoneae]. | |
1 Flowers in terminal or long-peduncled axillary racemes; branches adnate to stems, therefore appearing to arise internodally; plants suffrutescent bushy herbs | |
2 Stems with 4 obscure ribs or angles (or lacking apparent ribs); leaf venation parallel, with inconspicuous secondary veins, longitudinally plicate; anthers pink-purple | |
2 Stems with 8-16 distinct ribs; leaf venation pinnate, the secondary veins apparent; anthers whitish yellow; [section Polygonum]. | |
5 Inflorescences axillary, the cymules borne in the axils of leaves longer than the cymules (though often shorter than primary leaves of the stem). | |
7 Outer 3 tepals cucullate, in fruiting condition distinctly surpassing the inner 2 sepals and concealing them. | |
8 Plants ascending to erect; leaves 4-12× as long as wide. | |
11 Tepals green or reddish brown, margins white, with unbranched veins; plants usually ascending, with 1-7 stems; leaf blades (3.40) 4.2-9.2× as long as wide | |
12 Leaf blades 2-4.5× as long as wide; perianth (2.3-) 2.8-4.7 (-5) mm long; achenes (of the early season) (2.1-) 2.7-3.7 mm long | |
12 Leaf blades (3.4-) 4.2-9.2× as long as wide; perianth 1.9-3.4 mm long; achenes (of the early season) 1.2-1.8 mm long |