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A genus of plants embracing a large number of species, including bistort, knotweed, smartweed, etc.

The common bistort or snakeweed (Polygonum bistorta).

The knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare).

An herbaceous plant of the genus Polygonum, section Bistorta; snakeweed; adderwort. Its root is used in medicine as an astringent.

A plant (Fagopyrum esculentum) of the Polygonum family, the seed of which is used for food.

A weed with a sterm of many joints (Illecebrum verticillatum); also, the Polygonum aviculare or knotgrass.

A weed that binds stalks of corn, as Convolvulus arvensis, Polygonum Convolvulus. [Prov. Eng.]

Smartweed (Polygonum Hydropiper).

avorite food of geese; -- called also catchweed and cleavers. (b) A species of knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare). (c) The annual spear grass (Poa annua). -- Goose neck, anything, as a rod of iron or a pipe, curved like the neck of a goose; specially (Naut.), an iron hook connecting a spar with a mast. -- Goose quill, a…

A species (Polygonum Hydropiper) of knotweed with acrid foliage; water pepper; smartweed.

A slender, nearly leafless, American herb (Polygonum articulatum), with jointed spikes of small flowers.

a common weed with jointed stems (Polygonum aviculare); knotweed.

An annual weed (Polygonum Persicaria), having a lanceolate leaf with a dark spot in the middle.

The water pepper (Polygonum Hydropiper), an aquatic plant of Europe and North America.

to a natural order of apetalous plants (Polygonaceæ), of which the knotweeds (species of Polygonum) are the type, and which includes also the docks (Rumex), the buckwheat, rhubarb, sea grape (Coccoloba), and several other genera.

Any plant of the genus Polygonum.

gn. -- Prince's feather (Bot.), a name given to two annual herbs (Amarantus caudatus and Polygonum orientale), with apetalous reddish flowers arranged in long recurved panicled spikes. -- Prince's metal, Prince Rupert's metal. See under Metal. Prince's pine. (Bot.) See Pipsissewa.

which have the petals cut into narrow lobes. -- Ragged sailor (Bot.), prince's feather (Polygonum orientale). -- Ragged school, a free school for poor children, where they are taught and in part fed; -- a name given at first because they came in their common clothing. [Eng.] -- Rag"ged*ly, adv. -- Rag"ged*ness, n.…

h cradle. See Cratch cradle, under Cratch. -- Scratch grass (Bot.), a climbing knotweed (Polygonum sagittatum) with a square stem beset with fine recurved prickles along the angles. -- Scratch wig. Same as Scratch, 4, above. Thackeray.

An acrid plant of the genus Polygonum (P. Hydropiper), which produces smarting if applied where the skin is tender.