Polygonum polystachyum
Encyclopedia
Polygonum polystachyum is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family
known by the common names Himalayan knotweed and cultivated knotweed.
It is native to Asia and it is planted as an ornamental
. It has the capacity to become an invasive species
. It is a rhizomatous
perennial herb producing thick, hollow, erect stems easily exceeding one meter in length. Via its rhizomes it can form dense colonies. It may also spread asexually
if sections of the stem containing rooting nodes are separated and moved to a new area; chopping the plant into small pieces does not necessarily keep it from growing. The hairy leaves are up to 20 centimeters long. The branching inflorescence
is an array of lacy clusters of many small white flowers.
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 names Himalayan knotweed and cultivated knotweed.
It is native to Asia and it is planted as an ornamental
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
. It has the capacity to become an invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
. It 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 producing thick, hollow, erect stems easily exceeding one meter in length. Via its rhizomes it can form dense colonies. It may also spread asexually
Vegetative reproduction
Vegetative reproduction is a form of asexual reproduction in plants. It is a process by which new individuals arise without production of seeds or spores...
if sections of the stem containing rooting nodes are separated and moved to a new area; chopping the plant into small pieces does not necessarily keep it from growing. The hairy leaves are up to 20 centimeters long. The branching 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...
is an array of lacy clusters of many small white flowers.