Persicaria prostrata | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Polygonaceae |
Genus: | Persicaria |
Species: | P. prostrata
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Binomial name | |
Persicaria prostrata | |
Occurrence data from AVH | |
Synonyms[3] | |
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Persicaria prostrata, basionym Polygonum prostratum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to Australia[3] and perhaps New Zealand.[4] It is known by the common name of creeping knotweed.[5]
Decumbent perennial herb with stems up to about 40 cm long.[5] Leaves lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 1–5 cm long, 3–10 mm wide with short hairs on the margins and main veins.[5][6] Ochreas lobed with hairs 1–2 mm long.[5][6] Compact short cylindrical flower spikes from 0.6–4 cm long and 4–7 mm diameter.[6]
Persicaria prostrata grows on banks of streams, ground-tanks and ditches[6] and on heavy soils in areas prone to inundation.[5]
The plant was first described in 1810 by Robert Brown as Polygonum prostratum,[7][8] but was assigned to the genus Persicaria by Jiří Soják in 1974.[1][2]