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Antigonon leptopus, Mexican creeper. Although the
flowers of this coarse vine are showier than average for Polygonaceae, a
closer view (below) reveals that their construction is quite typical for
the family, note 5-parted perianth and eight stamens.
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Coccoloba uvifera, sea grape. Unusual in the family, this tree
species also has small, greenish flowers with a 5-lobed perianth, 8 stamens, and 3 or
occasionally 4 styles. The fruits are edible and made into jelly. |
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Eriogonum compositum, northern buckwheat, Mt. Spokane, WA,
2003. |
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Eriogonum sp., wild buckwheat. This example has six perianth segments and
nine stamens. |
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Homalocladium platycladum, ribbon bush. This photo shows a
cluster of flowers at one of the nodes of the flattened, photosynthetic stem. The leaves
are reduced to tiny brownish scales. Small greenish flowers such as these are common in
the family. In this species the perianth is 5-lobed but 8 stamens are present. Careful
inspection of the lower flower may reveal three style lobes. |
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Muehlenbeckia axillaris, Note unisexual flower
(female). |
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Polygonum aviculare, knotweed. This
species illustrates the
membranous sheathing stipules or ocreae found in this family. |
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Polygonum convolvulus, wild buckwheat, black bindweed, Avery
Park, Corvallis, OR, Jul 2004. |
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Polygonum newberryi, knotweed. The reddish ocreae are clearly visible in the
photo on the left. |
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Polygonum punctatum, dotted water smartweed, Avery
Park, Corvallis, OR, Jul 2004. Note sheathing stipule (ocrea) with
marginal bristles. |
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Rumex albescens, hu'ahu'ako. The female flowers of
this monoecious Hawaiian endemic species have 3 feathery stigmas. |
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Rumex crispus fruits |
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Rumex skottsbergii, pawale, endemic to Hawaii. |
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Triplaris surinamensis, longjohn. This is another of the exceptional trees in
the Polygonaceae. The green arrows in the photo on the left point to a male tree in the
foreground and the red arrows to a female tree of this dioecious species in the left
background. Pistillate flowers and developing 3-winged fruits can be seen in the
third
photo while male inflorescences are shown in the second photo. |