Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Persicaria amphibia var. stipulacea
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Water Smartweed at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygonum amphibium var. stipulaceum
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Persicaria amphibia
SYNONYMOUS WITH New England Wildflower Society’s Flora Novae Angliae (Haines, 2011)
Persicaria amphibia ssp. laevimarginata
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5 (2005)
Persicaria amphibia
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of Vascular Plants of NE US & Adjacent Canada (Gleason & Cronquist,1991)
Polygonum amphibium var. stipulaceum
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 063-04-006:
Polygonum coccineum FAMILY Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Persicaria muhlenbergii
COMMON NAME:
Water Smartweed, Scarlet Smartweed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_poam8_007_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_poam8_008_lvd
)
USDA / Selected Weeds of the US. 1970 swus_page_115
)
Bruce A. Sorrie bas_p_amphibia2_bjs
August St. Louis County MN
Its adaptations to differing water conditions make it quite variable, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
COMPARE
aquatic plants
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Persicaria amphibia var. stipulacea
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygonum amphibium var. stipulaceum
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Persicaria amphibia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
New England Wildflower Society’s Flora Novae Angliae (Haines, 2011)
Persicaria amphibia ssp. laevimarginata
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5
Persicaria amphibia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of Vascular Plants of NE US & Adjacent Canada (Gleason & Cronquist,1991)
Polygonum amphibium var. stipulaceum
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 063-04-006:
Polygonum coccineum
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Persicaria muhlenbergii
3188
Aquatic with submersed or floating leaves, or terrestrial; Forb
Perennial
Habitat: marshes, wet disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Stems, petioles and leaves unarmed
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Rhizomatous, forming clonal colonies
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Deep pink/ Red
5-parted calyx
Petals absent
Superior ovary
Bisexual, or often functionally unisexual
Inflorescence spikelike, uninterrupted or interrupted proximally
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Light brown
Nutlet
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p082
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p033
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".