Persicaria minor |
Persicaria punctata |
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Asian knotweed, petite renouée, pygmy smartweed, small smartweed, small water-pepper |
dotted knotweed, dotted smartweed, renouée ponctuée, water smartweed |
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Habit | Plants annual, 0.5–3(–4) dm; roots also sometimes at from proximal nodes; rhizomes and stolons absent. | Plants annual or perennial, 1.5–12 dm; roots also often arising from proximal nodes; rhizomes often present. |
Stems | decumbent or ascending, branched proximally, scarcely ribbed, glabrous or scabrous distally. |
ascending to erect, branched, without noticeable ribs, glabrous, glandular-punctate. |
Leaves | ocrea brownish, cylindric, 3–10 mm, chartaceous, base not inflated, margins truncate, ciliate with bristles (0.3–)1–3(–5) mm, surface glabrous or strigose, not glandular-punctate; petiole 0.1–0.2 cm, glabrous or strigose, leaves sometimes sessile; blade without dark triangular or lunate blotch adaxially, linear to linear-lanceolate, (1–)2–7.5(–10) × (0.2–)0.4–1(–2.3) cm, base tapered to cuneate, margins antrorsely scabrous, apex acute to acuminate, faces glabrous or sparingly strigose, especially along midveins, not glandular-punctate. |
ocrea brown, cylindric, (4–)9–18 mm, chartaceous, base inflated, margins truncate, ciliate with bristles 2–11 mm, surface glabrous or strigose, glandular-punctate; petiole 0.1–1 cm, glandular-punctate, leaves sometimes sessile; blade without dark triangular or lunate blotch adaxially, lanceolate to lanceolate-ovate or subrhombic, 4–10(–15) × 0.6–2.4 cm, base tapered or cuneate, margins antrorsely strigose, apex acute to acuminate, faces glabrous or scabrous along midveins, glandular-punctate. |
Inflorescences | terminal and axillary, ascending to erect, usually interrupted proximally, uninterrupted distally, 10–50 × 2–4 mm; peduncle (0–)2–25 mm, sometimes absent on axillary inflorescences and flowers thus enclosed in ocreae, glabrous; ocreolae not overlapping proximally, usually overlapping distally, margins ciliate with bristles (0.1–)0.6–2(–2.7) mm. |
mostly terminal, sometimes also axillary, erect, interrupted, 50–200 × 4–8 mm; peduncle 30–60 mm, glabrous, glandular-punctate; ocreolae mostly not overlapping, margins mostly ciliate with bristles to 2 mm. |
Pedicels | ascending, 0.5–1 mm. |
ascending, 1–4 mm. |
Flowers | 1–3(–4) per ocreate fascicle, homostylous; perianth roseate to red, rarely white, glabrous, not glandular-punctate, scarcely accrescent; tepals 5, connate ca. 1/3 their length, obovate to elliptic, 2.5–3 mm, veins not prominent, not anchor-shaped, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded; stamens 5(–6), included; anthers yellow to pink, elliptic; styles 2(–3), connate at bases. |
2–6 per ocreate fascicle, homostylous; perianth greenish proximally, white distally, rarely tinged pink, glandular-punctate with punctae ± uniformly distributed, scarcely accrescent; tepals 5, connate ca. 1/3 their length, obovate, 3–3.5 mm, veins prominent or not, not anchor-shaped, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded; stamens 6–8, included; anthers pink or red, elliptic to ovate; styles 2–3, connate proximally. |
Achenes | included, brownish black to black, biconvex or, rarely, 3-gonous, (1.5–)1.8–2.3(– 2.7) × (1.1–)1.3–1.5(–1.8) mm, shiny, smooth. |
included or apex exserted, brownish black, usually 3-gonous, rarely biconvex, (1.8–)2.2–3.2 × 1.5–2.2 mm, shiny, smooth. |
2n | = 44. |
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Persicaria minor |
Persicaria punctata |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jul–Oct. | Flowering Jun–Nov. |
Habitat | Damp, open places | Shallow water, shores, marshes, floodplain forests |
Elevation | 0-100 m (0-300 ft) | 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft) |
Distribution |
CT; IN; LA; MA; NE; PA; VA; VT; NB; ON; QC; Europe [Introduced in North America]
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AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; HI; BC; MB; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK; Mexico; West Indies (Puerto Rico); Central America (Guatemala); South America (Brazil)
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Discussion | Persicaria minor is synonymized with P. maculosa in most North American floras; its distribution in the flora area is poorly known. Hybrids between P. minor and P. maculosa have been documented in Europe (R. H. Roberts 1977). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
N. C. Fassett (1949) proposed a complicated classification for Persicaria punctata with 12 varieties in North America and South America. He also identified numerous specimens that he considered to be morphologically intermediate between various varieties. M. Dalci (1972) documented a wide range of phenotypic and genotypic variation throughout the range of P. punctata and extensive overlap in many of the features used by Fassett to distinguish varieties. Consequently, recognition of varieties does not seem warranted. Persicaria punctata and its close relatives P. robustior and P. glabra are unique among native North American smartweeds in possessing complex glands called valvate chambers in their epidermises. Persicaria punctata is confused most frequently with P. hydropiper; the achenes are diagnostic. The Chippewa, Houma, and Iroquois prepared decoctions from leaves, flowers, and roots for use as analgesics as well as gastrointestinal, orthopedic, and psychological aids (D. E. Moerman 1998). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 593. | FNA vol. 5, p. 586. |
Parent taxa | Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Persicaria > sect. Persicaria | Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Persicaria > sect. Persicaria |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Polygonum minus, Polygonum minus var. subcontinuum | Polygonum punctatum, Polygonum acre var. leptostachyum, Polygonum punctatum var. confertiflorum, Polygonum punctatum var. ellipticum, Polygonum punctatum var. leptostachyum, Polygonum punctatum var. parviflorum, Polygonum punctatum var. parvum |
Name authority | (Hudson) Opiz: Seznam, 72. (1852) | (Elliott) Small: Fl. S.E. U.S., 379. (1903) |
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