Burke: Persicaria hydropiper vs. Persicaria sagittata

	Persicaria hydropiper	Persicaria sagittata
	smartweed, mild water-pepper
Habit	Mostly glabrous annual, the stems rooting at the nodes, the upright stems simple to freely branched, peppery to the taste, the herbage with glands in small pits.
Leaves	Leaves alternate, numerous, all cauline, only slightly reduced upward, the blades lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, 5-7 cm. long, the stipules up to 15 mm. long, oblique.
Flowers	Inflorescence a terminal raceme and several lateral, spike-like, interrupted, lateral racemes 2-7 cm. long; pedicles 1-2 mm. long; perianth 3-4 mm. long, glandular, attached to about mid-length, the 4 segments greenish with white or pink margins, oblong; stamens 4 or 6; styles 2 or 3, distinct.
Fruits	Achenes brown, 3 mm. long.

	Persicaria hydropiper	Persicaria sagittata
Flowering time	July-September
Habitat	Shores, swales, ditches, and disturbed ground.
Distribution	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Introduced from Europe
Conservation status	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	P. amphibia, P. hydropiperoides, P. lapathifolia, P. maculosa, P. punctata, P. wallichii	P. amphibia, P. hydropiper, P. hydropiperoides, P. lapathifolia, P. maculosa, P. punctata, P. wallichii
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: OR Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Persicaria hydropiper

Persicaria sagittata

smartweed, mild water-pepper

Habit

Mostly glabrous annual, the stems rooting at the nodes, the upright stems simple to freely branched, peppery to the taste, the herbage with glands in small pits.

Leaves

Leaves alternate, numerous, all cauline, only slightly reduced upward, the blades lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, 5-7 cm. long, the stipules up to 15 mm. long, oblique.

Flowers

Inflorescence a terminal raceme and several lateral, spike-like, interrupted, lateral racemes 2-7 cm. long; pedicles 1-2 mm. long;

perianth 3-4 mm. long, glandular, attached to about mid-length, the 4 segments greenish with white or pink margins, oblong;

stamens 4 or 6;

styles 2 or 3, distinct.

Fruits

Achenes brown, 3 mm. long.