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''Persicaria'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of herbaceous

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the knotweed family,

Polygonaceae The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name is based on the genus ''Polygonum'', and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1789 ...

. Plants of the genus are known commonly as knotweeds or smartweeds.''Persicaria''.
Flora of North America. It has a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...

, with species occurring nearly worldwide.''Persicaria''.
New South Wales Flora Online. National Herbarium, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. The genus was segregated from ''

Polygonum ''Polygonum'' is a genus of about 130 species of flowering plant in the buckwheat and knotweed family Polygonaceae. Common names include knotweed and knotgrass (though the common names may refer more broadly to plants from Polygonaceae). In the ...

''.Wilson, K. L. (1990)
Some widespread species of ''Persicaria'' (Polygonaceae) and their allies.
''Kew Bulletin'' 45(4) 621-36. Persicaria amphibia kz3

Persicaria glabra in Narshapur forest, AP W IMG 1109

Description

The genus includes annual and perennial herbs with

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

s or fibrous root systems, or with

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 or

stolon In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...

s. The stems are often erect but may be prostrate along the ground, and some species are prickly. The stems are self-supporting or twining and climbing.''Persicaria''.
FloraBase. Western Australian Herbarium. The leaves are alternately arranged,

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

, and variously shaped. The brownish or reddish

ochrea An ochrea (Latin ''ocrea'', greave or protective legging), also spelled ocrea, is a plant structure formed of stipules fused into a sheath surrounding the stem, and is typically found in the Polygonaceae The Polygonaceae are a family of flower ...

may be leathery to papery. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

may be a

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

or a spikelike or headlike arrangement of fascicles of flowers. The flower is white, greenish, reddish, pink or purple, with the

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s partially fused together along the bases. The fruit is an

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 ...

which can take a number of shapes, including a disc or a sphere.

Taxonomy

Within the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

, ''Persicaria'' is placed in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Polygonoideae Polygonoideae is a subfamily of plants in the family Polygonaceae. It includes a number of plants that can be highly invasive, such as Japanese knotweed, ''Reynoutria japonica'', and its hybrid with '' R. sachalinensis'', ''R.'' × ''bohemica'' ...

, where the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

Persicarieae consists of two

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

genera, ''

Bistorta ''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 ...

'' and ''

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 ...

'', together with ''Persicaria''.

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 131 species: *'' Persicaria acuminata'' (Kunth) M.Gómez *'' Persicaria akakiensis'' (Cufod.) Soják *''

Persicaria amphibia ''Persicaria amphibia'' ( syn. ''Polygonum amphibium'') is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by several common names, including longroot smartweed, water knotweed, water smartweed, and amphibious bistort. It is native to ...

'' (L.) Delarbre – amphibious bistort, water smartweed *'' Persicaria angustifolia'' (Pall.) Ronse Decr. *'' Persicaria arifolia'' (L.) Haraldson – halberd-leaf tearthumb *'' Persicaria assamica'' (Meisn.) Soják *'' Persicaria attenuata'' (R.Br.) Soják *'' Persicaria barbata'' (L.) H.Hara *'' Persicaria biconvexa'' (Hayata) Nemoto *''

Persicaria bicornis ''Persicaria bicornis'' is a North American species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae). The common name is pink smartweed. It is native to the central and southwestern United States from northern Texas west to Arizona, eas ...

'' (Raf.) Nieuwl. – pink smartweed *'' Persicaria breviochreata'' (Makino) Ohki *'' Persicaria bungeana'' (Turcz.) Nakai – prickly smartweed *'' Persicaria capitata'' (Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don) H.Gross – pink-head knotweed *'' Persicaria careyi'' (Olney) Greene – Carey's smartweed *'' Persicaria cespitosa'' (Blume) Nakai *''

Persicaria chinensis ''Persicaria chinensis'' ( synonym ''Polygonum chinense''), commonly known as creeping smartweed or Chinese knotweed, is a plant species from the family Polygonaceae The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the kno ...

'' (L.) H.Gross – Chinese knotweed *'' Persicaria debilis'' (Meisn.) H.Gross ex W.Lee *''

Persicaria decipiens ''Persicaria decipiens'', commonly known as slender knotweed, is a species of flowering plant native to Australia and Asia. ''Persicaria decipiens'' is a trailing plant whose stems grow horizontally at first but become more vertical with time, r ...

'' (R.Br.) K.L.Wilson – slender knotweed, willow-weed *'' Persicaria dichotoma'' (Blume) Masam. *'' Persicaria dissitiflora'' (Hemsl.) H.Gross ex T.Mori *'' Persicaria eciliata'' M.A.Hassan *'' Persicaria extremiorientalis'' (Vorosch.) Tzvelev *'' Persicaria ferruginea'' (Wedd.) Soják *'' Persicaria filiformis'' (Thunb.) Nakai *'' Persicaria foliosa'' (H.Lindb.) Kitag. *'' Persicaria galapagensis'' (Caruel) Galasso *'' Persicaria glabra'' (Willd.) M.Gómez' – smooth smartweed *'' Persicaria glacialis'' (Meisn.) H.Hara *'' Persicaria glandulopilosa'' (De Wild.) Soják *'' Persicaria glomerata'' (Dammer) S.Ortiz & Paiva *'' Persicaria hastatosagittata'' (Makino) Nakai *''

Persicaria hirsuta ''Persicaria'' is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the knotweed family, Polygonaceae. Plants of the genus are known commonly as knotweeds or smartweeds.Persicaria hispida'' (Kunth) M.Gómez *'' Persicaria humilis'' (Meisn.) H.Hara *''

Persicaria hydropiper ''Persicaria hydropiper'' ( syn. ''Polygonum hydropiper''), also known as water pepper, marshpepper knotweed, arse smart or tade, is a plant of the family Polygonaceae. A widespread species, ''Persicaria hydropiper'' is found in Australia, New Z ...

'' (L.) Delarbre – water-pepper, marsh-pepper smartweed *''

Persicaria hydropiperoides ''Persicaria hydropiperoides'' is a New World species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common names swamp smartweed and false waterpepper. It is widespread across much of North America and South America.Cowan, C. P. 1983. ...

'' (Michx.) Small – swamp smartweed, mild water-pepper *'' Persicaria hystricula'' (J.Schust.) Soják *''

Persicaria japonica ''Persicaria'' is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the knotweed family, Polygonaceae. Plants of the genus are known commonly as knotweeds or smartweeds.Persicaria kawagoeana'' (Makino) Nakai *'' Persicaria lanigera'' (R.Br.) Soják *'' Persicaria lapathifolia'' (L.) Delarbre – pale persicaria *'' Persicaria laxmannii'' (Lepech.) H.Gross *'' Persicaria limbata'' (Meisn.) H.Hara *'' Persicaria longiseta'' (Bruyn) Kitag. – bristly lady's thumb *'' Persicaria maackiana'' (Regel) Nakai *'' Persicaria macrantha'' (Meisn.) Haraldson *''

Persicaria maculosa ''Persicaria maculosa'' (syn. ''Polygonum persicaria'') is an annual plant in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae. Common names include lady's thumb, spotted lady's thumb, Jesusplant, and redshank. It is widespread across Eurasia from Iceland sout ...

'' Gray – Jesusplant, spotted lady's thumb, redshank *'' Persicaria madagascariensis'' (Meisn.) S.Ortiz & Paiva *'' Persicaria malaica'' (Danser) Galasso *''

Persicaria meisneriana ''Persicaria meisneriana'' is a flowering plant species in the family Polygonaceae The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name is ...

'' (Cham. & Schltdl.) M.Gómez – Mexican tearthumb *'' Persicaria microcephala'' (D.Don) H.Gross *'' Persicaria minor'' (Huds.) Opiz – small water-pepper *'' Persicaria mitis'' (Schrank) Assenov *'' Persicaria muricata'' (Meisn.) Nemoto *'' Persicaria neofiliformis'' (Nakai) Ohki *'' Persicaria nepalensis'' (Meisn.) Miyabe) – Nepal knotweed *'' Persicaria nogueirae'' S.Ortiz & Paiva *'' Persicaria obtusifolia'' (Täckh. & Boulos) Greuter & Burdet *'' Persicaria odorata'' (Lour.) Soják – Vietnamese coriander *'' Persicaria orientalis'' (L.) Spach – kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate, prince's feather, princess-feather *'' Persicaria palmata'' (Dunn) Yonek. & H.Ohashi *'' Persicaria paraguayensis'' (Wedd.) S.T.Kim & Donoghue *'' Persicaria peduncularis'' (Wall. ex Meisn.) Nemoto *'' Persicaria pensylvanica'' (L.) M.Gómez) – Pennsylvania smartweed *'' Persicaria perfoliata'' (L.) H.Gross *''

Persicaria poiretii ''Persicaria'' is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the knotweed family, Polygonaceae. Plants of the genus are known commonly as knotweeds or smartweeds.Persicaria posumbu'' (Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don) H.Gross *'' Persicaria praetermissa'' (Hook.f.) H.Hara *''

Persicaria prostrata ''Persicaria prostrata'', basionym ''Polygonum prostratum'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to Australia and perhaps New Zealand. It is known by the common name of creeping knotweed. Description Decumbent p ...

'' (R.Br.) Soják - Creeping Knotweed *'' Persicaria pubescens'' (Blume) H.Hara *'' Persicaria pulchra'' (Blume) Soják *'' Persicaria punctata'' (Elliott) Small – dotted knotweed *'' Persicaria puritanorum'' (Fernald) Soják *'' Persicaria robustior'' (Small) E.P.Bicknell – stout smartweed *''

Persicaria roseoviridis ''Persicaria'' is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the knotweed family, Polygonaceae. Plants of the genus are known commonly as knotweeds or smartweeds.Persicaria rubricaulis'' (Cham.) Galasso *'' Persicaria rudis'' (Meisn.) H.Gross *'' Persicaria runcinata'' (Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don) H.Gross *'' Persicaria sagittata'' (L.) H.Gross – American tearthumb, arrowleaf tearthumb, arrowvine *'' Persicaria segetum'' (Kunth) Small *'' Persicaria senegalensis'' (Meisn.) Soják *'' Persicaria senticosa'' (Meisn.) H.Gross *'' Persicaria setacea'' (Baldwin) Small – bog smartweed *'' Persicaria setosula'' (A.Rich.) K.L.Wilson *''

Persicaria sinica ''Persicaria'' is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the knotweed family, Polygonaceae. Plants of the genus are known commonly as knotweeds or smartweeds.Persicaria sinuata'' (Royle ex Bab.) H.Gross *'' Persicaria stagnina'' (Buch.-Ham. ex Meisn.) M.A.Hassan *'' Persicaria stelligera'' (Cham.) Galasso *''

Persicaria strigosa ''Persicaria'' is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the knotweed family, Polygonaceae. Plants of the genus are known commonly as knotweeds or smartweeds.Persicaria subsessilis'' (R.Br.) K.L.Wilson *''

Persicaria sungareensis ''Persicaria'' is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the knotweed family, Polygonaceae. Plants of the genus are known commonly as knotweeds or smartweeds.Persicaria taquetii'' (H.Lév.) Koidz. *'' Persicaria tenella'' (Blume) H.Hara *'' Persicaria thunbergii'' (Siebold & Zucc.) H.Gross *'' Persicaria tinctoria'' (Aiton) Spach – Chinese indigo, polygonum-indigo *'' Persicaria trigonocarpa'' (Makino) Nakai *'' Persicaria truellum'' (Koidz.) Honda *'' Persicaria virginiana'' (L.) Gaertn. – jumpseed *'' Persicaria viscofera'' (Makino) H.Gross *'' Persicaria viscosa'' (Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don) H.Gross ex T.Mori *'' Persicaria wellensii'' (De Wild.) Soják

Notes

References

Bibliography

* {{Authority control Polygonaceae genera Taxa named by Philip Miller