''Persicaria decipiens'', commonly known as slender knotweed, is a species of flowering plant

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to Australia and Asia. ''Persicaria decipiens'' is a trailing plant whose stems grow horizontally at first but become more vertical with time, reaching high. Its narrow elliptic to lanceolate (spear-shaped) leaves are long and across. The slender pink flower spikes appear from November to June, with a peak in February. Cylindrical in shape, they are not stiff and tend to bend over. The plant tends to die back in winter and regenerate after water. ''Persicaria decipiens'' was among the plants collected by

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...

and Daniel Solander on 5 May 1770 at Botany Bay during the first voyage of Captain James Cook. Prolific Scottish botanist Robert Brown described the species as ''Polygonum decipiens'' in his 1810 work '' Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen''. It was given its current name by

Karen Wilson Karen Louise Wilson (born 1950) is an Australian botanist. Some of her research interests are: systematics, phylogenetic and biogeographic studies on Cyperaceae, Casuarinaceae, Juncaceae and Polygonaceae. Other professional interests include ...

in 1988 as the broadly defined genus '' Polygonum'' was split into smaller genera. Common names include slender knotweed, willow weed and snake root. ''P. decipiens'' is found in water and wet soil. It is found across Africa and the Mediterranean, through southwestern Asia, Malesia and all states of Australia, as well as Norfolk Island, New Zealand and New Caledonia. It has become naturalised in Madagascar. Likely pollinators of its flowers are insects, including honeybees, native bees, flies, wasps and small butterflies. ''Persicaria decipiens'' is not cultivated but is eaten locally in times of famine in Africa.

References

External links

''Persicaria decipiens'' occurrence data from GBIF
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15596188 Flora of New South Wales Perennial plants decipiens Plants described in 1810 Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)