Persicaria minor

(Hudson) Opiz

Seznam, 72. 1852.

Common names: Small water-pepper petite renouée
Introduced
Basionym: Polygonum minus Hudson Fl. Angl., 148. 1762
Synonyms: Polygonum minus var. subcontinuum (Meisner) Fernald
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 5. Treatment on page 593. Mentioned on page 583, 594.

Plants annual, 0.5–3(–4) dm; roots also sometimes at from proximal nodes; rhizomes and stolons absent. Stems decumbent or ascending, branched proximally, scarcely ribbed, glabrous or scabrous distally. Leaves: ocrea brownish, cylindric, 3–10 mm, chartaceous, base not inflated, margins truncate, ciliate with bristles (0.3–)1–3(–5) mm, surface glabrous or strigose, not glandular-punctate; petiole 0.1–0.2 cm, glabrous or strigose, leaves sometimes sessile; blade without dark triangular or lunate blotch adaxially, linear to linear-lanceolate, (1–)2–7.5(–10) × (0.2–)0.4–1(–2.3) cm, base tapered to cuneate, margins antrorsely scabrous, apex acute to acuminate, faces glabrous or sparingly strigose, especially along midveins, not glandular-punctate. Inflorescences terminal and axillary, ascending to erect, usually interrupted proximally, uninterrupted distally, 10–50 × 2–4 mm; peduncle (0–)2–25 mm, sometimes absent on axillary inflorescences and flowers thus enclosed in ocreae, glabrous; ocreolae not overlapping proximally, usually overlapping distally, margins ciliate with bristles (0.1–)0.6–2(–2.7) mm. Pedicels ascending, 0.5–1 mm. Flowers 1–3(–4) per ocreate fascicle, homostylous; perianth roseate to red, rarely white, glabrous, not glandular-punctate, scarcely accrescent; tepals 5, connate ca. 1/3 their length, obovate to elliptic, 2.5–3 mm, veins not prominent, not anchor-shaped, margins entire, apex obtuse to rounded; stamens 5(–6), included; anthers yellow to pink, elliptic; styles 2(–3), connate at bases. Achenes included, brownish black to black, biconvex or, rarely, 3-gonous, (1.5–)1.8–2.3(– 2.7) × (1.1–)1.3–1.5(–1.8) mm, shiny, smooth.


Phenology: Flowering Jul–Oct.
Habitat: Damp, open places
Elevation: 0-100 m

Distribution

V5 1207-distribution-map.gif

Introduced; N.B., Ont., Que., Conn., Ind., La., Mass., Nebr., Pa., Vt., Va., Europe.

Discussion

Persicaria minor is synonymized with P. maculosa in most North American floras; its distribution in the flora area is poorly known. Hybrids between P. minor and P. maculosa have been documented in Europe (R. H. Roberts 1977).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Persicaria minor"
Harold R. Hinds† +  and Craig C. Freeman +
(Hudson) Opiz +
Polygonum minus +
Small water-pepper +  and petite renouée +
N.B. +, Ont. +, Que. +, Conn. +, Ind. +, La. +, Mass. +, Nebr. +, Pa. +, Vt. +, Va. +  and Europe. +
0-100 m +
Damp, open places +
Flowering Jul–Oct. +
Introduced +
Polygonum minus var. subcontinuum +
Persicaria minor +
Persicaria sect. Persicaria +
species +