DOTTED SMARTWEED
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DOTTED SMARTWEED

Persicaria punctata
BUCKWHEAT FAMILY (Polygonaceae)

Identification

  • Flowering time - June, July, August, September
  • Common in wet places on floodplain or in hollows at FF and NW.
  • Interrupted spike-like cluster of tiny white flowers
  • Tiny, punctate glands on flower buds (may need magnification to see)
  • Bristles on papery sheaths which wrap around the stem
  • DOTTED SMARTWEED
  • DOTTED SMARTWEED
  • DOTTED SMARTWEED
  • DOTTED SMARTWEED
Click on each photo thumbnail to enlarge.

This native perennial is found in dense colonies (C). The erect stems are usually less than 3 feet tall; they hold smooth, alternate lance-shaped leaves up to 6 inches long.  Papery sheaths (ochreae) which have bristly margins wrap around the stem at the base of each leaf (D). The tiny white flowers are irregularly spaced on an erect or arching stem above the leaves (A,B,C). Flower buds have abundant punctate glands as indicated by the scientific name (E). These circular glands are quite small, and may require a hand lens to see well.

Common in wet places on the floodplain; sometimes in wet spots in hollows at both Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods.  Flowering occurs from June through September.

An alternate common name is Water Smartweed.  Until recently, the scientific name of this species was Polygonum punctatum.

 

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