Persicaria
Encyclopedia
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of plants in the family Polygonaceae
Polygonaceae
Polygonaceae is a family of flowering plants known informally as the "knotweed family" or "smartweed family"— "buckwheat family" in the United States. The name is based on the genus Polygonum and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1789 in his book, Genera Plantarum. The name refers...
, collectively known as smartweeds or pinkweeds. The genus was formerly included in the genus Polygonum
Polygonum
Polygonum is a genus in the Polygonaceae family. Common names include knotweed, knotgrass, bistort, tear-thumb, mile-a-minute, and several others. In the Middle English glossary of herbs "Alphita" , it was known as ars-smerte. There have been various opinions about how broadly the genus should be...
.
The genus includes both annuals and perennials. Most have terminal spikes
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of pink or sometimes white flowers.
Most members of the genus are aggressive and/or invasive weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
s, though some have been used as cover crops in the field and ornamental plants in the garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
.
Species
The following species are now classified in the genus Persicaria:- Polygonum affine (Persicaria affinisPersicaria affinisPersicaria affinis is an ornamental plant of Persicaria genus in Polygonaceae family.-External links:*...
) - Polygonum alatum (Persicaria alata)
- Polygonum alpinum – alpine knotweed (Persicaria alpina)
- Polygonum amphibium – amphibious bistort (Persicaria amphibiaPersicaria amphibiaPersicaria amphibia is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by several common names, including water knotweed, water smartweed, and amphibious bistort. It is native to much of North America and Eurasia, but it is known on most continents as an introduced species and sometimes...
) - Polygonum amplexicaule - Mountain Fleece (Persicaria amplexicaulis)
- Polygonum bistorta – bistort (Persicaria bistortaPersicaria bistortaPersicaria bistorta is a herbaceous flowering plant found throughout Europe. The generic placement of this species is in flux. While treated here as in Persicaria, it has also been placed in Polygonum or Bistorta.The Latin name "bistorta" refers to the twisted appearance of the root...
) - Polygonum campanulatum – lesser knotweed (Persicaria campanulata) (Reynoutria campanulatum)
- Polygonum capitatum - pink bubbles persicaria (Persicaria capitataPersicaria capitataPersicaria capitata is an ornamental plant of the Persicaria genus in the Polygonaceae family. The spikes are 5-10mm long and 5-7mm in diameter.-Description:...
) - Polygonum emodi (Persicaria emodi)
- Polygonum filiforme (Persicaria virginianaPersicaria virginianaJumpseed is a Persicaria. They can grow in dry, shady areas.It blooms in midsummer to late summer/early fall. It has a stalk of small white flowers.-Cultivation:...
) - Polygonum hydropiper – water-pepperWater-pepperWater-pepper or Water pepper is a plant of the family Polygonaceae. It grows in damp places and shallow water. It is a cosmopolitan plant, found in Australia, New Zealand, temperate Asia, Europe, and North America...
(Persicaria hydropiper) - Polygonum lapathifolium – pale persicariaPale PersicariaPale Persicaria is a plant of the family Polygonaceae. It is closely related to Redshank and as such is considered a weed in Britain and Europe....
or nodding smartweed (Persicaria lapathifolia) - Polygonum longisetum (Persicaria longiseta)
- Polygonum macrophyllum (Persicaria macrophylla)
- Polygonum microcephalum – red dragon persicaria (Persicaria microcephala)
- Polygonum milletii (Persicaria milletii)
- Polygonum minus – small water-pepper (Persicaria minor)
- Polygonum mite – tasteless water-pepper (Persicaria mitis, Persicaria laxiflora)
- Polygonum molle (Persicaria mollis)
- Polygonum nepalense (Persicaria nepalensis)
- Polygonum odoratum – Vietnamese corianderVietnamese corianderPersicaria odorata, the Vietnamese coriander, is an herb whose leaves are used in Southeast Asian cooking. Other English names for the herb include Vietnamese mint, Vietnamese cilantro, Cambodian mint and hot mint. The Vietnamese name is rau răm, while in Malaysia and Singapore it is called daun...
(Persicaria odorata) - Polygonum orientale (Persicaria orientalis)
- Polygonum pensylvanicum – Pennsylvania smartweed or pink knotweed or pinkweed (Persicaria pensylvanica)
- Polygonum persicaria – redshankRedshank (plant)The Redshank is a perennial plant from the Knotweed family Polygonaceae. It is also called Persicaria, Redleg, Lady's-thumb, Spotted Ladysthumb, Gambetta, and Adam's Plaster in Newfoundland...
or persicaria or lady's thumb (Persicaria maculosa) - Persicaria polymorphaPersicaria polymorphaPersicaria polymorpha is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae.-Description:Persicaria polymorpha is a herbaceous plant with alternate, simple leaves, on stout stems. The flowers are white, borne in summer through fall....
- Knotweed - Polygonum polystachyum = Polygonum wallichii
- Polygonum punctatum = Persicaria punctataPersicaria punctataPersicaria punctata is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by the common name dotted knotweed....
- Polygonum runciforme (Persicaria runcinata)
- Polygonum sagittatum – arrowleaf tearthumb, American tear-thumb or scratchgrass (Persicaria sagittata)
- Polygonum tenuicaule (Persicaria tenuicaulis)
- Polygonum tinctorium (Persicaria tinctoriaPolygonum tinctorumPersicaria tinctoria H.Gross is Chinese indigo, a plant of the Buckwheat family that is found from Eastern Europe to East Asia, and whose...
) - Polygonum vaccinifolium (Persicaria vaccinifolia)
- Polygonum virginianum – Jumpseed (Persicaria virginianaPersicaria virginianaJumpseed is a Persicaria. They can grow in dry, shady areas.It blooms in midsummer to late summer/early fall. It has a stalk of small white flowers.-Cultivation:...
) - Polygonum viviparum – alpine bistortAlpine BistortPolygonum viviparum , commonly known as Alpine Bistort, is common all over the high Arctic. It stretches further south in high mountainous areas like the Alps, Carpathians, Pyrenees, Caucasus and the Tibetan Plateau.It grows to 5-15 cm tall with a thick rootstock...
(Persicaria vivipara) - Polygonum wallichii – Himalayan knotweed (Persicaria wallichii)
- Polygonum weyrichii (Persicaria weyrichii)