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(Return to Family List)
The Polygonaceae includes three genera common in western Washington: Oxyria, Rumex, and Polygonum. Polygonum is the most diverse of these, with around 25 species found in western Washington. In addition, just over the Cascades in eastern Washington the huge genus, Eriogonum, is represented by around 16 species. The Polygonaceae is a family of annual or perennial herbs or small shrubs with (usually) opposite leaves and uaually with a papery structure formed from a pair of stipules sheathing the stem called an ocrea (not present in Eriogonum). The leaves are usually simple and entire. The flowers of the Polygonaceae are usually bisexual, generally small but in large inflorescences. The sepals and petals are often in 3's or 6's (but sometimes in 4's or 5's) and are often green or dark reddish-brown. The seeds of most members of the Polygonaceae are triangular.
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