Polygonum douglasii |
Polygonum engelmannii |
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Douglas' knotweed, renouée de Douglas |
Engelmann's knotweed |
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Habit | Herbs. | Herbs. |
Stems | erect, green, simple or branched, not wiry, 5–80 cm, glabrous or sparsely papillose-scabridulous. |
erect, green or purplish brown, branched from base, not wiry, 4–30 cm, glabrous or minutely papillose-scabridulous. |
Leaves | uniformly distributed, articulated to ocreae, basal leaves caducous, distal leaves abruptly reduced to bracts; ocrea 6–12 mm, glabrous or minutely papillose-scabridulous, proximal part cylindric, distal part hyaline, lacerate; petiole 0.1–2 mm; blade 1-veined, not pleated, linear, narrow-oblong, or oblanceolate, 15–55 × 2–8(–12) mm, margins revolute, smooth or papillose-denticulate; apex acute to mucronate. |
uniformly distributed, articulated to ocreae, basal leaves persistent, distal leaves abruptly reduced to bracts; ocrea 3–5 mm, papillose-scabridulous or glabrous, proximal part funnelform, distal part becoming lacerate with age; petiole 0.1–2 mm; blade 1-veined, not pleated, linear-oblanceolate, 10–20(–25) × 1–3(–4) mm, margins revolute, smooth, apex acute to mucronate. |
Inflorescences | axillary and terminal, spikelike, elongate; cymes widely spaced along branches, 2–4-flowered. |
axillary and terminal, spikelike, loosely floriferous nearly to base, elongate; cymes spaced along branches, (1–)2–4-flowered. |
Pedicels | mostly exserted from ocreae, reflexed, 2–6 mm. |
exserted from ocreae, reflexed, 1–3 mm. |
Flowers | closed; perianth 3–4.5 mm; tube 20–28% of perianth length; tepals overlapping, green to tannish with white or pink margins, petaloid, oblong, cucullate, navicular, apex rounded; midveins usually branched, rarely unbranched; stamens 8. |
closed; perianth 1.5–2(–2.5) mm; tube 18–26% of perianth length; tepals initially overlapping and cucullate, later forced apart by developing achene, greenish or sometimes purple, with white margins, petaloid or sepaloid, oblong, ± flat or navicular, apex rounded; midveins unbranched; stamens 5–8. |
Achenes | enclosed in perianth, black, elliptic or oblong to ovate, 3–4(–4.5) mm, faces subequal, shiny or dull, smooth or minutely striate-tubercled. |
exserted from perianth, black, elliptic, 1.2–2.3 mm, faces subequal, shiny, smooth. |
Polygonum douglasii |
Polygonum engelmannii |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Oct. | Flowering Jun–Sep. |
Habitat | Dry, often disturbed places, rock outcrops, sandy ground | Dry to moist sandy or well-drained soils, sagebrush desert to lower mountains |
Elevation | 300-3000 m (1000-9800 ft) | 1000-1500 m (3300-4900 ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; CO; IA; ID; MI; MN; MT; NE; NH; NM; NV; NY; OR; SD; UT; VA; VT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; ON; QC; SK; YT
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CO; ID; MT; NV; SD; UT; WY; AB; BC |
Discussion | Five taxa that have been included in Polygonum douglasii (E. Murray 1982; J. C. Hickman 1984; J. T. Kartesz and K. N. Gandhi 1990) are treated here as distinct species: P. austiniae, P. majus, P. nuttallii, P. sawatchense, and P. spergulariiforme. Hickman noted extensive intergradation and numerous intermediate specimens among those sympatric elements, but qualitative or quantitative characters allow reliable discrimination in most cases (M. Costea and F. J. Tardif 2005), and species are here circumscribed similar to C. L. Hitchcock (1964). Greene described var. latifolium as having leaf blades and achenes broader than those of var. douglasii. C. L. Hitchcock (1964) recognized the former, but the characters used to distinguish it appear to vary continuously, and reliable separation is not possible. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 567. | FNA vol. 5, p. 569. |
Parent taxa | Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Polygonum > sect. Duravia | Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Polygonum > sect. Duravia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. douglasii var. latifolium, P. emaciatum, P. montanum, P. tenue var. commune, P. tenue var. latifolium | P. douglasii subsp. engelmannii |
Name authority | Greene: Bull. Calif. Acad. Sci. 1: 125. (1885) | Greene: Bull. Calif. Acad. Sci. 1: 126. (1885) |
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