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r enouée robuste, stout dotted smartweed, stout smartweed

pink smartweed

Habit Plants perennial, 3–20 dm; roots also sometimes arising from proximal nodes; rhizomes present, stolons sometimes present. Plants annual, 2–18 dm; roots also rarely arising from basal nodes; rhizomes and stolons absent.
Stems

ascending, usually branched proximally, scarcely ribbed, glabrous, glandular-punctate;

branches sometimes creeping and rooting at nodes.

ascending to erect, rarely decumbent, branched, ribbed, glabrous or appressed-pubescent to spreading-pubescent distally, stipitate-glandular or, rarely, without stipitate-glands.

Leaves

ocrea light brown, cylindric, 10–15 mm, chartaceous, base inflated, margins truncate, ciliate with bristles 3–12 mm, surface strigose, glandular-punctate;

petiole 0.2–2 cm, glandular-punctate;

blade without dark triangular or lunate blotch adaxially, lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, 4–20 × 2–4.5 cm, base tapered, margins antrorsely strigose, apex acute to acuminate, faces glabrous or main veins scabrous, glandular-punctate.

ocrea brownish, cylindric, 6–20 mm, chartaceous, base inflated, margins truncate, eciliate or ciliate with bristles to 1 mm, surface glabrous or scabrous proximally, eglandular;

petiole 0.1–1.5(–2.3) cm, glabrous or appressed-pubescent;

blade sometimes with dark triangular or lunate blotch adaxially, linear-lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 2.3–13(–18) × (0.4–)1–2.3 cm, base tapered to cuneate, margins antrorsely scabrous, apex acute to acuminate, faces glabrous or appressed-pubescent along midveins, glandular-punctate abaxially.

Inflorescences

terminal and axillary, erect, uninterrupted, 20–80 × 5–10 mm;

peduncle 5–40 mm, glandular-punctate;

ocreolae usually overlapping, margins eciliate or proximal ones sometimes ciliate with bristles to 1 mm.

terminal and axillary, erect, uninterrupted, 8–60 × 10–18 mm;

peduncle 8–60(–70) mm, glabrous or pubescent, usually stipitate-glandular;

ocreolae overlapping, margins eciliate or ciliate with bristles to 0.8 mm.

Pedicels

ascending to spreading, 2–5 mm.

ascending, 1.5–5 mm.

Flowers

2–4 per ocreate fascicle, homostylous;

perianth greenish proximally, white distally, glandular-punctate with punctae ± uniformly distributed, slightly accrescent;

tepals 5, connate ca.1/3 their length, obovate, 3.2–4.2 mm, veins prominent or not, not anchor-shaped, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded;

stamens 6–8, included;

anthers pink or red, elliptic;

styles 3, connate proximally.

2–11 per ocreate fascicle, heterostylous;

perianth pink, glabrous, not glandular-punctate, accrescent;

tepals 5, connate ca. 1/4–1/3 their length, obovate to elliptic, 3–4.6 mm, veins prominent, not anchor-shaped, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded;

stamens 6–8, included or exserted;

anthers pink or red, elliptic;

styles 2(–3), included or exserted, connate at bases.

Achenes

included or apex exserted, dark brown to brownish black, 3-gonous, 2.7–3.6 × 2–2.5 mm, shiny, smooth.

included or apex exserted, brownish black to black, discoid or, rarely, 3-gonous, 1 side usually slightly concave and other with central hump, (2–)2.2–2.9 × 2–2.8(–3) mm, shiny, smooth.

Persicaria robustior

Persicaria bicornis

Phenology Flowering Jul–Oct. Flowering Jun–Oct.
Habitat Peaty shores, often in water on coastal plain or near coast Moist, disturbed places, permanent and ephemeral wetlands, ditches, cultivated fields, shorelines of ponds and reservoirs
Elevation 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft) 50-1600 m (200-5200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CT; DE; FL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; TX; VA; NS; ON; QC; Central America; South America; West Indies
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AR; CO; IA; IL; KS; LA; MO; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Persicaria robustior often is synonymized with P. punctata.

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

Persicaria bicornis is a characteristic smartweed of permanent and ephemeral wetlands and moist, disturbed sites in the Great Plains. It often has been included in P. pensylvanica but can be distinguished readily by its heterostylous flowers. The achenes, which usually bear an obscure or prominent hump in the center of one face, also are diagnostic. This hump often ruptures the side of the perianth on fruiting herbarium specimens. Persicaria bicornis also has leaf blades that are on average narrower than are those of P. pensylvanica, and populations exhibit less variation in perianth color. As in P. pensylvanica, flowers with three styles and trigonous achenes are produced very rarely.

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

Source FNA vol. 5, p. 584. FNA vol. 5, p. 589.
Parent taxa Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Persicaria > sect. Persicaria Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Persicaria > sect. Persicaria
Sibling taxa
P. amphibia, P. arifolia, 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. sagittata, P. setacea, P. virginiana, P. wallichii
P. amphibia, P. arifolia, 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 punctatum var. robustius, P. punctata var. robustior, Polygonum punctatum var. majus, Polygonum robustius Polygonum bicorne, P. longistyla, Polygonum longistylum
Name authority (Small) E. P. Bicknell: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 36: 455. (1909) (Rafinesque) Nieuwland: Amer. Midl. Naturalist 3: 201. (1914)
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