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arrow-leaf knotweed, arrow-leaf tearthumb, arrow-vine, renouée sagittée

kiss-me-Over-the-garden-gate, Prince's-feather smartweed, princess-feather, renouée orientale

Habit Plants annual, 3–20 dm; roots also often arising from proximal nodes. Plants annual, 6–25 dm; roots not also arising from proximal nodes; rhizomes and stolons absent.
Stems

scandent, ribbed, glabrous;

prickles 1–1.5 mm.

erect, simple or branched distally, usually ribbed, strigose or glabrescent proximally, pilose to hirsute distally.

Leaves

ocrea brownish, cylindric, (3–)5–13 mm, chartaceous, base inflated or not, without prickles, margins oblique, glabrous or ciliate at tip with bristles 0.2–1 mm, surface glabrous;

petiole 0.5–4 cm;

blade broadly lanceolate to oblong, 2–8.5 × 1–3 cm, base sagittate to cordate, margins entire, ciliate or eciliate, apex obtuse to acute, faces glabrous or densely appressed-pubescent, usually with retrorse prickles along midvein abaxially.

ocrea brownish proximally, green distally, narrowly funnelform, 10–20 mm, chartaceous proximally, foliaceous distally, rarely chartaceous throughout, base inflated or not, margins truncate, ciliate with bristles 1–3 mm, surface densely strigose to hispid, not glandular-punctate;

petiole 1–8.5(–14) cm, densely pilose to hirsute;

blade without dark triangular or lunate blotch adaxially, ovate, 6–25(–30) × 3–17 cm, base cordate to truncate, margins scabrous to ciliate, apex acuminate, faces minutely strigose to densely hirsute, especially along veins abaxially, not glandular-punctate.

Inflorescences

capitate or paniclelike, uninterrupted, 5–15 × 4–10 mm;

peduncle 10–80 mm, usually glabrous, sometimes with retrorse prickles proximally;

ocreolae overlapping, margins eciliate.

mostly terminal, nodding or erect, uninterrupted, 10–150 × 8–18 mm;

peduncle 20–100 mm, hirsute;

ocreolae overlapping, margins ciliate with bristles 0.2–1 mm.

Pedicels

mostly ascending, 1–1.5 mm.

ascending to spreading, 1–4 mm.

Flowers

2–3 per ocreate fascicle;

perianth white or greenish white, often tinged pink or red, sometimes entirely pink, glabrous, accrescent, not becoming blue and fleshy in fruit;

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

stamens 8, filaments distinct, free;

anthers pink, ovate;

styles 3, connate to middle.

(1–)2–5 per ocreate fascicle, homostylous;

perianth roseate to red, glabrous, not glandular-punctate, slightly accrescent;

tepals 5, connate in proximal 1/3, obovate, 3–4.5 mm, veins prominent or not, not anchor-shaped, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded;

stamens 6–8, included or exserted;

anthers pink or red, elliptic;

styles 2, connate proximally.

Achenes

included or styles exserted, light or dark brown to black, 3-gonous, 2.5–4 × 1.8–2.5 mm, dull to shiny, smooth to minutely punctate.

included, dark brown to black, discoid, 2.5–3.5 × 3–3.5 mm, shiny to dull, smooth to minutely granulate.

2n

= 40.

Persicaria sagittata

Persicaria orientalis

Phenology Flowering Jun–Oct. Flowering Jun–Oct.
Habitat Moist shaded sites, meadows, pastures, fens, swamps, shorelines of ponds and streams Moist waste places
Elevation 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft) 0-500 m (0-1600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; e Asia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CA; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; NB; ON; QC; s Asia (India) [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Persicaria sagittata is an extremely variable species. Achene and leaf characters have been used by some authors to separate North American and Asian populations, but these characters show weak geographic variation (C. W. Park 1988).

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

Persicaria orientalis was introduced as a garden ornamental. It often persists around homesteads and barnyards, and occasionally escapes and becomes weedy in moist waste places. A collection made in 1853 by F. V. Hayden at Fort Pierre, South Dakota (MO), is assumed to have come from a cultivated plant.

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

Source FNA vol. 5, p. 577. FNA vol. 5, p. 591.
Parent taxa Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Persicaria > sect. Echinocaulon 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. robustior, P. setacea, P. virginiana, P. wallichii
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. pensylvanica, P. perfoliata, P. punctata, P. robustior, P. sagittata, P. setacea, P. virginiana, P. wallichii
Synonyms Polygonum sagittatum, Polygonum sagittatum var. gracilentum, Tracaulon sagittatum, Truellum sagittatum Polygonum orientale
Name authority (Linnaeus) H. Gross: Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 37(2): 113. (1919) (Linnaeus) Spach: Hist. Nat. Vég. 10: 537. (1841)
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