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Himalayan smartweed, Japanese knotweed, pink bubble persicaria, pink-head knotweed, pink-head persicaria, pinkhead smartweed

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

Habit Plants annual or perennial, 0.5–5 dm; roots also often arising from proximal nodes. Plants annual, 2–15 dm; roots also often arising from proximal nodes.
Stems

prostrate, glabrous or glandular-pubescent.

scandent, ribbed, glabrous;

prickles 0.5–1 mm.

Leaves

ocrea brown or reddish brown, cylindric to funnelform, 5–12 mm, chartaceous, base inflated or not, margins oblique, eciliate or ciliate with bristles to 1.5 mm, surface lanate, sometimes also glandular-pubescent;

petiole 2–5 mm, winged distally;

blade ovate to elliptic, 1.5–4(–6) × 0.6–2.5(–3.3) cm, base cuneate or tapering, margins ciliate with reddish, multicellular hairs, apex acute, faces glandular-pubescent abaxially and adaxially, not glandular-punctate.

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

terminal, 5–20 × 7-18 mm;

peduncle 10–40 mm, glabrous or stipitate-glandular in distal 1/5;

ocreolae overlapping, margins eciliate.

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

spreading, 0.5–1 mm.

mostly ascending, 2–3 mm.

Flowers

1–5 per ocreate fascicle;

perianth greenish white proximally, pinkish distally, urceolate, glabrous, nonaccrescent;

tepals 5, elliptic, 2–3 mm, apex acute to obtuse;

stamens 8, filaments distinct, free;

anthers pink to red, elliptic;

styles 3, connate to middle or distally.

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, reddish brown to brownish black, 3-gonous, 1.5–2.2 × 1–1.5 mm, shiny, smooth or minutely punctate.

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

Persicaria capitata

Persicaria arifolia

Phenology Flowering Jun–Sep. Flowering Jul–Oct.
Habitat Disturbed, urban places Shaded swamps, ponds, tidal marshes along rivers, wet ravines in forests
Elevation 0-500 m (0-1600 ft) 0-600 m (0-2000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; LA; OR; Asia (Bhutan, w China, n India, Nepal) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in the Pacific Islands (Hawaii)]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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]
Discussion

Persicaria capitata is planted as a garden groundcover. It escapes infrequently in the flora area; once established outside of cultivation it can be difficult to eradicate.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 5, p. 579. FNA vol. 5, p. 577.
Parent taxa Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Persicaria > sect. Cephalophilon Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Persicaria > sect. Echinocaulon
Sibling taxa
P. amphibia, P. arifolia, P. bicornis, P. bungeana, 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
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 capitatum Polygonum arifolium, Polygonum arifolium var. lentiforme, Polygonum arifolium var. pubescens, Polygonum sagittatum var. pubescens, Tracaulon arifolium, Truellum arifolium
Name authority (Buchanan-Hamilton ex D. Don) H. Gross: Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 49: 277. (1913) (Linnaeus) Haraldson: Acta Univ. Upsal., Symb. Bot. Upsal. 22: 72. (1978)
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