Persicaria hydropiperoides

No taste when eaten. Pink flowers. Leaves 0.5" wide or more. Inflorescence straight. Bristles on ocre.

Seeds germinate well at 65-85 degrees F (20-30 C). Justice (1941, 1944 ) found that stratification at 35-40 degrees F (2-4 C) for 4 weeks increased germination. Scarification with concentrated sulfuric acid for 10 minutes reduced the time of stratification (Justice 1941, Bayer 1958).

Black bindweeds and false buckwheats are especially valuable to upland gamebirds. True knotweed and smartweed seeds are important for ground-feeding songbirds. Information is for genus Polygonum. Animals that eat its seeds:Mourning dove, Prairie chicken, Bobwhite quail, Woodcock, Redwing blackbird, Cowbird, English sparrow, Harris sparrow, Tree sparrow. Animals that eat the plant: White-footed mouse, Antelope (Martin et al. 1951).

The Acadian French name for P. punctatum is "curage." It is likely that this name is applied to all members of this genus, which are difficult for a lay person to distinguish from one another (Holmes 1990).

Wet areas, beaches, marshes, shallow water.

The young shoots of several smartweeds are edible. Seeds of this genus have been found frequently in archaeological remains (O'Brien 1982). It is believed that the seeds of P. erectum were cultivated in prehistoric times (Asch and Asch 1982). Several species of Polygonum are reported to be poisonous to livestock (Correll and Johnston 1979).