Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Water Smartweed - Persicaria amphibia ssp. laevimarginata   (Hultén) Soják
Members of Polygonaceae:
Members of Persicaria with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 6 » Family Polygonaceae
Author(Hultén) Soják
DistributionSee the full species account for details.
Abundance
Habitat
Phenology
Identification
Taxonomic CommentsMany species formerly treated in the genus Polygonum have been moved to Persicaria, the smartweeds. These are generally erect and tall plants with terminal and axillary floral spikes; most occur in wetlands. Others remain in Polygonum, the knotweeds, which are generally prostrate to ascending and with inconspicuous axillary flowers. They occur mostly in dry soils and tend to be weedy.

Attention must be paid to the small collars at the junction of the main stem and leaf stems (called ocreae) and whether they possess terminal hairs or bristles. Some keys also refer to the even smaller collars from which flowers emerge (called ocreolae). Another important ID character is the surface of the greenish sepals -- whether smooth or dotted with indentations (punctate).
Other Common Name(s)
State RankSH
Global RankG5T5
State StatusSR-P
US Status
USACE-agcp
USACE-emp
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B.A. SorriePhoto taken at Wrentham, MA, in 1980s. Photo_non_NCPhoto_non_NC