Persicaria virginiana |
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jumpseed, renouée de virginie |
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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 |
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Phenology | Flowering Jul–Oct. |
Habitat | Rich deciduous forests, floodplain forests, dry woodlands, thickets |
Elevation | 0-500 m (0-1600 ft) |
Distribution |
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
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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 | |
Synonyms | Polygonum virginianum, Antenoron virginianum, Tovara virginiana |
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Gaertner: Fruct. Sem. Pl. 2: 180. (1790) |
Web links |