Polygonum polygaloides |
Polygonum ramosissimum |
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close-flower knotweed, close-flower knotweed (ssp. confertiflorum), Kellogg's knotweed (ssp. kelloggii), milkwort knotweed, polygala knotweed, whitemargin knotweed |
bushy knotweed, yellow knotweed, yellow-flower knotweed |
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Habit | Herbs. | Plants yellowish green or bluish green, (dark brown to black after drying in subsp. prolificum), heterophyllous or homophyllous. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stems | erect, green, usually divaricately branched, rarely simple, ± wiry, (2–)6–20(–25) cm, glabrous. |
erect, usually profusely branched in distal 1/2, not wiry, 10–100(–200) 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 6–12(–15) mm, proximal part cylindric, distal part silvery, soon disintegrating into persistent brown fibers; petiole 2–4 mm; blade variable, light yellowish green to bluish green, proximal often caducous, narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, or oblanceolate, rarely ovate, 8–70 × 4–18(–35) mm, margins flat, apex acute to acuminate or obtuse; distal leaves, either overtopping or shorter than or equaling flowers. |
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Inflorescences | axillary and terminal, spikelike, subglobose to cylindric; cymes in most axils or crowded distally, 1–3-flowered. |
axillary or axillary and terminal, spikelike; cymes uniformly distributed or crowded toward tips of branches, 2–5-flowered. |
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Pedicels | enclosed in ocreae, erect, 0.1–2 mm, sometimes absent. |
enclosed in or exserted from ocreae, 1–6 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. |
closed; perianth (2–)2.2–3.6(–4) mm; tube 20–38% of perianth length; tepals overlapping, greenish yellow with greenish yellow or yellow, rarely pink or white, margins, petaloid or sepaloid, not keeled, elliptic to oblong, cucullate; midveins thickened or not; stamens 3–6(–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. |
enclosed in or exserted from perianth, dark brown, ovate, 3-gonous, 1.6–3.5 mm, faces subequal, concave, apex not beaked, edges straight, shiny or dull, usually smooth to roughened, sometimes uniformly or obscurely tubercled; late-season achenes common, 4–15 mm. |
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Polygonum polygaloides |
Polygonum ramosissimum |
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Distribution |
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; SK
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AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK
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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.) |
Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora). Polygonum ramosissimum exhibits considerable morphological complexity and is similar in difficulty to the P. aviculare complex. Further research is necessary to understand the infraspecific variability of this species (M. Costea and F. J. Tardif 2003b). (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. 551. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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) | Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 237. (1803) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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