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r enouée robuste, stout dotted smartweed, stout smartweed

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

Habit Plants perennial, 3–20 dm; roots also sometimes arising from proximal nodes; rhizomes present, stolons sometimes present. Plants annual or perennial, 0.5–5 dm; roots also often arising from proximal nodes.
Stems

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

branches sometimes creeping and rooting at nodes.

prostrate, glabrous or glandular-pubescent.

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 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.

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, 5–20 × 7-18 mm;

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

ocreolae overlapping, margins eciliate.

Pedicels

ascending to spreading, 2–5 mm.

spreading, 0.5–1 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.

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.

Achenes

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

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

Persicaria robustior

Persicaria capitata

Phenology Flowering Jul–Oct. Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat Peaty shores, often in water on coastal plain or near coast Disturbed, urban places
Elevation 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft) 0-500 m (0-1600 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
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]
Discussion

Persicaria robustior often is synonymized with P. punctata.

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

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. 584. FNA vol. 5, p. 579.
Parent taxa Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Persicaria > sect. Persicaria Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Persicaria > sect. Cephalophilon
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. 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
Synonyms Polygonum punctatum var. robustius, P. punctata var. robustior, Polygonum punctatum var. majus, Polygonum robustius Polygonum capitatum
Name authority (Small) E. P. Bicknell: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 36: 455. (1909) (Buchanan-Hamilton ex D. Don) H. Gross: Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 49: 277. (1913)
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