''Bistorta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere, as far south as Mexico in North America and Thailand in Asia.

Description

Species of ''Bistorta'' are perennial herbaceous plants. Their roots are fibrous, forming

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s. They have erect, unbranched stems. Their leaves are usually longer than wide, mostly basal, but with some arranged alternately on the stems. The inflorescences are spikelike. The individual flowers have five white to purple-pink (rarely red) tepals. The flowers are bisexual, although the 5–8 stamens are sometimes poorly developed. There are three styles. The fruits are in the form of

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

s, that are brown or dark brown, unwinged, and three-angled. The monoploid number of chromosomes, ''x'', is 11 or 12.

Taxonomy

In 1753, Carl Linnaeus divided up his genus '' Polygonum'' into unranked groups, one of which was ''Bistorta''. In 1754, Giovanni Antonio Scopoli elevated ''Bistorta'' to a genus. ''Bistorta'' is placed in the subfamily Polygonoideae, tribe Persicarieae, along with the genera ''

Koenigia :Koenigia'' as described by Philibert Commerçon is a synonym of ''Dombeya. ''Koenigia'' is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus ''Aconogonon'' has been merged into ''Koenigia''. Description Species of ''Koenigia'' are annual ...

'' and '' Persicaria''. A 2015 molecular phylogenetic study suggested that the tribes in Polygonoideae were related as shown in the following cladogram. Within the tribe Persicarieae, ''Bistorta'' is most closely related to ''Koenigia'':

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

accepted the following 42 species. *'' Bistorta abukumensis'' Yonek., Iketsu & H.Ohashi *'' Bistorta affinis'' (D.Don) Greene *'' Bistorta albiflora'' Miyam. & H.Ohba *'' Bistorta alopecuroides'' (Turcz. ex Besser) Kom. *'' Bistorta amplexicaulis'' (D.Don) Greene *'' Bistorta attenuata'' Kom. *'' Bistorta attenuatifolia'' Miyam. & H.Ohba *''

Bistorta bistortoides ''Bistorta bistortoides'' (American bistort, western bistort, smokeweed, mountain meadow knotweed, mountain buckwheat or mountain meadow buckwheat) is a perennial herb in the buckwheat and knotweed family Polygonaceae. The species name remains un ...

'' (Pursh) Small *'' Bistorta burmanica'' Yonek. & H.Ohashi *'' Bistorta coriacea'' (Sam.) Yonek. & H.Ohashi *''

Bistorta diopetes ''Bistorta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate clade by molecular phylogenetic analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native throughout much of the Norther ...

'' H.Ohba & S.Akiyama *''

Bistorta elliptica ''Bistorta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate clade by molecular phylogenetic analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native throughout much of the Norther ...

'' (Willd. ex Spreng.) V.V.Petrovsky, D.F.Murray & Elven *'' Bistorta emodi'' (Meisn.) H.Hara *''

Bistorta griersonii ''Bistorta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate clade by molecular phylogenetic analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native throughout much of the Northern ...

'' Yonek. & H.Ohashi *''

Bistorta griffithii ''Bistorta griffithii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to Tibet, East Himalaya, South-Central China and Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventio ...

'' (Hook.f.) Grierson *''

Bistorta hayachinensis ''Bistorta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate clade by molecular phylogenetic analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native throughout much of the Norther ...

'' (Makino) H.Gross *'' Bistorta honanensis'' (H.W.Kung) Yonek. & H.Ohashi *'' Bistorta incana'' (Nakai) Nakai *'' Bistorta jaljalensis'' H.Ohba & S.Akiyama *''

Bistorta krascheninnikovii ''Bistorta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate clade by molecular phylogenetic analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native throughout much of the Northern ...

'' N.A.Ivanova *'' Bistorta longispicata'' Yonek. & H.Ohashi *'' Bistorta ludlowii'' Yonek. & H.Ohashi *'' Bistorta macrophylla'' (D.Don) Soják *''

Bistorta manshuriensis ''Bistorta manshuriensis'' (Hangul: 범꼬리), Asian bistort, is an unresolved name for a proposed flowering plant species in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae. It is a perennial herbaceous plant found in mountain valleys and lowlands in Korea a ...

'' (Petrov ex Kom.) Kom. *''

Bistorta milletii ''Bistorta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate clade by molecular phylogenetic analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native throughout much of the Norther ...

'' H.Lév. *''

Bistorta milletioides ''Bistorta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate clade by molecular phylogenetic analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native throughout much of the Norther ...

'' H.Ohba & S.Akiyama *'' Bistorta ochotensis'' Kom. *'' Bistorta officinalis'' Delarbre *'' Bistorta paleacea'' (Wall. ex Hook.f.) Yonek. & H.Ohashi *'' Bistorta perpusilla'' (Hook.f.) Greene *'' Bistorta plumosa'' (Small) Greene *'' Bistorta purpureonervosa'' (A.J.Li) Yonek. & H.Ohashi * (Brügger) Dostál *'' Bistorta rubra'' Yonek. & H.Ohashi *'' Bistorta sherei'' H.Ohba & S.Akiyama *'' Bistorta sinomontana'' (Sam.) Miyam. *'' Bistorta subscaposa'' (Diels) Petrov *'' Bistorta suffulta'' (Maxim.) Greene ex H.Gross *''

Bistorta tenuicaulis ''Bistorta tenuicaulis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to South Korea and Japan. The species was first described as ''Polygonum tenuicaule'' by James Bisset and Spencer Moore in 1878, and transferred to the ...

'' (Bisset & S.Moore) Nakai *'' Bistorta tenuifolia'' (H.W.Kung) Miyam. & H.Ohba *'' Bistorta tubistipulis'' Miyam. & H.Ohba *'' Bistorta vacciniifolia'' (Wall. ex Meisn.) Greene *''

Bistorta vivipara ''Bistorta vivipara'' (synonym ''Persicaria vivipara'') is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae, commonly known as alpine bistort. Scientific synonyms include ''Bistorta vivipara'' and ''Polygon ...

'' (L.) Delarbre Bistorta abukumensis 5.JPG, '' Bistorta abukumensis'' Beautiful Deosi Flowers.jpg, '' Bistorta affinis'' Bistorta amplexicaulis Polygonium amplexicaule HabitusInflorescences BotGardBln0906a.jpg, '' Bistorta amplexicaulis'' Bistorta bistortoides, Western bistort, Yosemite.jpg, ''

'' Bistorta macrophylla Tawang.jpg, '' Bistorta macrophylla'' Bistorta vivipara T57.jpg, ''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q938953 Polygonaceae genera