The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

jumpseed, renouée de virginie

Habit Plants perennial, 4.5–6(–13) dm; rhizomatous.
Stems

ribbed, glabrous or strigose.

Leaves

ocrea brownish hyaline, cylindric, 10–20 mm, base inflated or not, margins truncate, ciliate with bristles 0.5–4 mm, surface strigose to tomentose;

petiole (0.1–)1–2 cm, leaves sometimes sessile;

blade 5–17.5 × 2–10 cm, apex acute to acuminate, faces pubescent abaxially, strigose and scabrous adaxially.

Inflorescences

(50–)100–350 × 7–15 mm;

peduncle 10–70 mm, pubescent or glabrous distally;

ocreolae not overlapping, margins ciliate with bristles to 3 mm.

Pedicels

ascending to spreading, 0.5–1 mm.

Flowers

1–3 per ocreate fascicle;

perianth white, greenish white, or rarely pink, glabrous, accrescent;

tepals elliptic to obovate, 2.5–3.5 mm, apex acute to acuminate;

filaments distinct, outer ones sometimes adnate to perianth tube;

anthers yellow or pink, ovate;

styles distinct.

Achenes

included except for apex and styles, brown to dark brown, biconvex, 3.5–4 × 2–2.8 mm, dull to shiny, smooth to rugose.

2n

= 44.

Persicaria virginiana

Phenology Flowering Jul–Oct.
Habitat Rich deciduous forests, floodplain forests, dry woodlands, thickets
Elevation 0-500 m (0-1600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; WI; WV; ON; QC; c Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Tension in the articulation of the pedicels is sufficient to throw mature achenes 3–4 m when the inflorescence is bumped, and the persistent, hooked styles aid in the dispersal of achenes in the fur of animals (H. S. Reed and I. Smoot 1906). A hot infusion of leaves with bark of honey-locust (Gleditsia triacanthos Linnaeus) was used by the Cherokee to treat whooping cough (D. E. Moerman 1998).

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

Source FNA vol. 5, p. 575.
Parent taxa Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Persicaria > sect. Tovara
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. sagittata, P. setacea, P. wallichii
Synonyms Polygonum virginianum, Antenoron virginianum, Tovara virginiana
Name authority (Linnaeus) Gaertner: Fruct. Sem. Pl. 2: 180. (1790)
Web links