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garden knotweed, garden smartweed, Himalayan knotweed, Kashmir plume

Carey's smartweed, renouée de Carey

Habit Plants annual, 3–15(–20) dm; roots also rarely arising from proximal nodes; rhizomes and stolons absent.
Stems

erect, branched distally, ribbed distally, hirsute proximally, stipitate-glandular distally, usually smooth proximally.

Leaves

ocrea brownish to reddish brown, cylindric, 8–20 mm, chartaceous, base inflated or not, margins truncate, ciliate with bristles 2–7 mm, surface strigose to hirsute, not glandular-punctate, rarely stipitate-glandular;

petiole (0.1–)0.5–1.5 cm, hirsute, leaves sometimes sessile;

blade without dark triangular or lunate blotch adaxially, narrowly lanceolate, 6–18 × 1–3.5 cm, base tapering, margins antrorsely strigose, apex acuminate to attenuate, faces sparingly hirsute abaxially and adaxially, veins often hirsute, sometimes stipitate-glandular.

Inflorescences

terminal and axillary, nodding or drooping, usually interrupted, 10–100 × 5–10 mm;

peduncle 20–50 mm, stipitate-glandular;

ocreolae overlapping or not overlapping proximally, margins eciliate or ciliate with bristles to 1.3 mm.

Pedicels

ascending to spreading, 1–4 mm.

Flowers

(1–)2–8 per ocreate fascicle, homostylous;

perianth roseate or purple, glabrous, not glandular-punctate, scarcely accrescent;

tepals 5, connate in proximal 1/3, obovate, 2.4–3.2 mm, veins prominent or not, not anchor-shaped, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded;

stamens 5 (or 8), included;

anthers pink, elliptic;

styles 2, connate to middle.

Achenes

included, dark brown to black, biconvex, 1.8–2.5 × 1.5–2 mm, shiny, smooth.

Persicaria wallichii

Persicaria careyi

Phenology Flowering Jul–Oct.
Habitat Low thickets, swamps, bogs, moist shorelines, clearings, recent burns, cultivated ground
Elevation 0-300 m (0-1000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; MA; OR; BC; Asia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CT; DE; FL; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; VA; VT; WI; NB; ON; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (1 in the flora).

Persicaria wallichii is an ornamental that escapes infrequently in the flora area. A population in Nova Scotia apparently was ephemeral. Plants with leaf blades sparsely to densely pubescent abaxially and pedicels glabrous are var. wallichii, to which naturalized North American plants appear to be referable. Plants with leaf blades brownish-tomentose abaxially and pedicels usually pubescent are var. tomentosa S. P. Hong, which may be in cultivation in North America.

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

An infusion made from entire plants of Persicaria careyi was used by the Potawatomi as a cold remedy and febrifuge (D. E. Moerman 1998).

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

Source FNA vol. 5, p. 581. FNA vol. 5, p. 592.
Parent taxa Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Persicaria > sect. Rubrivena 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. sagittata, P. setacea, P. virginiana
P. amphibia, P. arifolia, P. bicornis, P. bungeana, P. capitata, 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
Subordinate taxa
P. wallichii var. wallichii
Synonyms Polygonum polystachyum, Aconogonon polystachyum, Pleuropteropyrum polystachyum, Reynoutria polystachya, Rubrivena polystachya Polygonum careyi
Name authority Greuter & Burdet: Willdenowia 19: 41. (1989) (Olney) Greene: Leafl. Bot. Observ. Crit. 1: 24. (1904)
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