Polygonum polygaloides |
Polygonum marinense |
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close-flower knotweed, close-flower knotweed (ssp. confertiflorum), Kellogg's knotweed (ssp. kelloggii), milkwort knotweed, polygala knotweed, whitemargin knotweed |
Marin knotweed |
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Habit | Herbs. | Plants often reddish tinged, heterophyllous, subsucculent. | ||||||||||||||||
Stems | erect, green, usually divaricately branched, rarely simple, ± wiry, (2–)6–20(–25) cm, glabrous. |
prostrate to ascending, branching from base, not wiry, 15–40 cm. |
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Leaves | uniformly distributed, articulated to ocreae, basal leaves often caducous, distal leaves abruptly reduced to bracts; ocrea 4–8 mm, glabrous, proximal part cylindric, distal part silvery, with inconspicuous veins, lacerate; petiole absent; blade 3-veined, lateral veins sometimes inconspicuous, without pleats, narrowly linear, 10–40 × 1–2.5 mm, margins ± revolute, smooth, apex acute or mucronate. |
ocrea 4–6 mm, proximal part funnelform, distal part silvery hyaline, soon disintegrating, leaving almost no fibrous remains; petiole 2–5 mm; blade often reddish tinged, elliptic to obovate or oblanceolate; 20–35 × 9–16 mm, margins flat, apex rounded; stem leaves (1.3–)2–2.6(–3.5) times as long as branch leaves; distal leaves overtopping flowers in distal part of inflorescence. |
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Inflorescences | axillary and terminal, spikelike, subglobose to cylindric; cymes in most axils or crowded distally, 1–3-flowered. |
axillary; cymes in most leaf axils, 1–4-flowered. |
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Pedicels | enclosed in ocreae, erect, 0.1–2 mm, sometimes absent. |
mostly exserted from ocreae, 2–4 mm. |
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Flowers | mostly closed; perianth 1.5–3 mm; tube 19–40% of perianth length; tepals overlapping, uniformly white, pink, or red, petaloid, oblong-lanceolate, ± navicular, apex acute to acuminate; midveins usually unbranched or with 2 lateral branches proximally, moderately to strongly thickened, tepals appearing ± keeled; stamens 3–8. |
semi-open; perianth 3–3.5(–4) mm; tube 18–25% of perianth length; tepals overlapping, green, margins white or pink, petaloid, not keeled, broadly rounded, cucullate; midveins unbranched; stamens 8. |
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Achenes | enclosed in perianth, light yellow, light brown, or greenish brown to dark brown, ovate to lanceolate, 1.3–2.5 mm, faces subequal, shiny or dull, smooth or reticulate with longitudinal ridges. |
exserted from perianth, brown, ovate, 3-gonous, 2.8–3.4(–4) mm, faces subequal or evidently unequal, apex not beaked, edges straight, shiny, minutely roughened; late-season achenes uncommon, 4.5–5 mm. |
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2n | = 60. |
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Polygonum polygaloides |
Polygonum marinense |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Oct. | |||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Coastal salt and brackish marshes, swamps | |||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 0-10 m (0-0 ft) | |||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; SK
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CA
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Discussion | Subspecies 4 (4 in the flora). J. C. Hickman’s (1993c) treatment of the Polygonum polygaloides complex is provisionally accepted here. Most of the intermediate specimens occur between subspp. confertiflorum, esotericum, and kelloggii. Alternatively, P. polygaloides could be recognized in the narrow sense and the three other taxa could be treated as subspecies of a separate P. kelloggii, the earliest available binomial. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Of conservation concern. The origin and taxonomic affinities of Polygonum marinense are uncertain. T. R. Mertens and P. H. Raven (1965) suggested a relationship with P. oxyspermum C. A. Meyer & Bunge or the Mediterranean P. robertii Loiseleur-Deslongchamps. Polygonum marinense may be confused with P. ramosissimum. It can be distinguished by its subsucculent texture, funnelform ocreae, leaves rounded at the apices, and semi-open flowers. Marin knotweed is known from fewer than 15 locations in Marin, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma counties; it is threatened by coastal development. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 565. | FNA vol. 5, p. 552. | ||||||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Polygonum > sect. Duravia | Polygonaceae > subfam. Polygonoideae > Polygonum > sect. Polygonum | ||||||||||||||||
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Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||||||||||
Name authority | Meisner: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 14: 101. (1856) | T. R. Mertens & P. H. Raven: Madroño 18: 87. (1965) | ||||||||||||||||
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