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halberd-leaf smartweed, halberd-leaf tearthumb, renouée à feuilles d'arum

Habit Plants annual, 2–15 dm; roots also often arising from proximal nodes.
Stems

scandent, ribbed, glabrous;

prickles 0.5–1 mm.

Leaves

ocrea tan or brownish, cylindric, 8–15 mm, chartaceous, base inflated or not, with prickles, margins oblique, ciliate with bristles 0.5–2.5 mm, surface glabrous or appressed- to spreading-pubescent;

petiole 1–7 cm;

blade broadly hastate to hastate-cordate or triangular, (2–)6.5–13(–18) × (1–)6–11(–16) cm, base truncate to truncate-cordate, margins broadly hastate with lobes divergent, ciliate, sometimes also retrorsely prickly, apex acuminate, faces appressed-pubescent or, rarely, glabrous adaxially, stellate-pubescent or, rarely, glabrous abaxially, major veins often bearing prickles.

Inflorescences

capitate or paniclelike, uninterrupted, 5–12 × 3–8 mm;

peduncle 10–80 mm, retrorsely prickly proximally, stellate-pubescent and stipitate-glandular distally, glands red or pink;

ocreolae usually overlapping, sometimes not overlapping proximally, margins eciliate or ciliate with bristles to 0.5 mm.

Pedicels

mostly ascending, 2–3 mm.

Flowers

2–4 per ocreate fascicle;

perianth pink or red, often whitish green proximally, glabrous, accrescent, not becoming blue and fleshy in fruit;

tepals 4, connate 1/3–1/2 their length, broadly elliptic, 5–6 mm, apex acute to obtuse;

stamens (6–)8, filaments distinct, free;

anthers pink, elliptic;

styles 2, distinct.

Achenes

included, dark brown to black, biconvex, 3.5–6 × 3–4 mm, shiny, smooth.

Persicaria arifolia

Phenology Flowering Jul–Oct.
Habitat Shaded swamps, ponds, tidal marshes along rivers, wet ravines in forests
Elevation 0-600 m (0-2000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CT; DC; DE; GA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 5, p. 577.
Parent taxa Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Persicaria > sect. Echinocaulon
Sibling taxa
P. amphibia, P. bicornis, P. bungeana, P. capitata, P. careyi, P. chinensis, P. glabra, P. hirsuta, P. hydropiper, P. hydropiperoides, P. lapathifolia, P. longiseta, P. maculosa, P. meisneriana, P. minor, P. nepalensis, P. orientalis, P. pensylvanica, P. perfoliata, P. punctata, P. robustior, P. sagittata, P. setacea, P. virginiana, P. wallichii
Synonyms Polygonum arifolium, Polygonum arifolium var. lentiforme, Polygonum arifolium var. pubescens, Polygonum sagittatum var. pubescens, Tracaulon arifolium, Truellum arifolium
Name authority (Linnaeus) Haraldson: Acta Univ. Upsal., Symb. Bot. Upsal. 22: 72. (1978)
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