Polygonum hydropiperoides
Encyclopedia
Polygonum hydropiperoides is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family
known by the common name swamp smartweed. It is native to much of North America where it grows in moist and wet habitats, and is sometimes semi-aquatic
.
This plant species is quite variable and is sometimes divided into several varieties, some of which may be better treated as species in their own right.
In general, this plant is a rhizomatous
perennial herb growing upright or erect and approaching a maximum height of one meter. Roots may emerge from nodes on the lower stem. The bristly lance-shaped leaves are around 10 centimeters long. The leaves have sheathing stipule
s known as ochrea
. The spikelike inflorescence
produces many pinkish flowers each about 3 millimeters wide.
Polygonaceae
Polygonaceae is a family of flowering plants known informally as the "knotweed family" or "smartweed family"— "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 in his book, Genera Plantarum. The name refers...
known by the common name swamp smartweed. It is native to much of North America where it grows in moist and wet habitats, and is sometimes semi-aquatic
Aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...
.
This plant species is quite variable and is sometimes divided into several varieties, some of which may be better treated as species in their own right.
In general, this plant is a rhizomatous
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
perennial herb growing upright or erect and approaching a maximum height of one meter. Roots may emerge from nodes on the lower stem. The bristly lance-shaped leaves are around 10 centimeters long. The leaves have sheathing stipule
Stipule
In botany, stipule is a term coined by Linnaeus which refers to outgrowths borne on either side of the base of a leafstalk...
s known as ochrea
Ochrea
Ochrea, commonly spelled ocrea, is a structure formed of stipules fused into a sheath surrounding the stem. It is a diagnostic character in the Polygonaceae.In palms it denotes an extension of the leaf sheath beyond the petiole insertion....
. The spikelike inflorescence
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. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
produces many pinkish flowers each about 3 millimeters wide.