Author

Fred Benham

Ecology

Found in floodplain forests and woodlands, along the edge of ponds, moist roadsides, and waste places; grows from 0-300 m.

Family

Polygonaceae

Flowers

There are 1-5 flowers per ocreate fascicle, glabrous. There are 5 tepals varying in color from white to red, biseriate, and unequal, connate to obovate, no prominent veins and those visible are not anchor shaped, margins entire, rounded to obtuse apex. Flowers have 5-8 stamens, which are elliptic to ovoid with long filaments, and 3 proximally connate styles, free at top, but fused at base.

Fruit

Achenes are shiny and smooth, dark brown to black, trigonous, 1.6-2.3 x 1.1-1.6mm; found within the perianth.

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Inflorescences

The inflorescences are usually terminal rarely axillary; erect and uninterrupted 10-40 mm; peduncle 10-50 mm, glabrous, and sparsely flowered. Ocreolae has ciliate margins, and bristles 1-4 mm long.

Leaves

The leaf blades are occasionally sessile, ovate-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, base cuneate, apex acute to acuminate, margins of leaf have antrorsely appressed hairs. Surface of the leaf blade is glabrous to a little strigose along veins abaxially, and same on adaxial surface. Petiole is short and glabrous. Ocrea are hyaline to brown, cylindrical, chartaceous, with the base occasionally inflated, truncate margins, ciliate bristles usually  =2/3 length of tube, and a glabrous or strigose surface, never glandular-punctate.

References

Godfrey, R.K., and J.W. Wooten. 1981. Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern, Dicotyledons. United States. The University of Georgia Press, Athens.

Hinds, H. R. and C. C. Freeman. 2005. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee. Flora of North America. Volume V: Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae, part 2. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.

USDA, NRCS. 2006. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 8 December 2006). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Stems

Stems decumbent to ascending, branching, and glabrous, 3-8 dm tall, brownish to reddish-brown.in color. There are no rhizomes or stolons, and roots will occasionally sprout from proximal nodes.

Synonyms

Polygonum longisetum Bruijn in F.A.W. Miquel, Persicaria caespitosa (Blume) Nakai var. longiseta (Bruijn) C.F. Reed; Polygonum caespitosum Blume var. longisetum (Bruijn) Steward.

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