Polygonum polygaloides
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Polygonum polygaloides subsp. confertiflorum JEPS109979 (4500408902).jpg
|image_caption = Polygonum polygaloides var. confertum [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Polygonum_polygaloides_subsp._confertiflorum_JEPS109979_%284500408902%29.jpg photo of herbarium specimen at University of California, Berkeley, collected in Siskiyou County in 2005]
|genus = Polygonum
|species = polygaloides
|synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true
|title=Synonymy
|Polygonum polygaloides var. montanum Brenckle
|Polygonum confertiflorum Nutt. ex Piper
|Polygonum kelloggii var. confertiflorum (Nutt. ex Piper) Dorn
|Polygonum watsonii Small
|Polygonum esotericum L.C. Wheeler
|Polygonum kelloggii Greene
|Polygonum minutissimum L.O. Williams
|Polygonum unifolium Small ex Rydb.
|}}}}
Polygonum polygaloides is a North American species of flowering plants in the buckwheat family known by the common names milkwort knotweed and polygala knotweed. It is native to much of western North America, where it can be found in many types of moist habitat. It is a variable species, usually divided into a number of subspecies.
Description
Polygonum polygaloides is an annual herb producing slender, wiry green stems 1 to 30 centimeters (0.4–12 inches) in length. The linear or lance-shaped leaves are alternately arranged uniformly along the stem, the ones near the tips of stem branches highly reduced. The leaves have membranous stipules which fuse to form silvery ochrea at the leaf bases. The flowers are mainly located in clusters around the stem tips. They are white, pink, or red, and most remain closed.[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250060751 Flora of North America, Polygonum polygaloides Meisner 1856. Polygala knotweed ]
Subspecies
Some sources accept the following as subspecies of Polygonum polygaloides, while others regard all but subsp. polygaloides as belonging to a distinct species, P. kelloggii.[http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/tro-26000884 The Plant List, Polygonum polygaloides Meisn. ][http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Polygonum%20kelloggii.png Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map, Polygonum kelloggii][http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Polygonum%20polygaloides.png Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map, Polygonum polygaloides]
- Polygonum polygaloides subsp. confertiflorum (Nutt. ex Piper) J.C.Hickman – from British Columbia east to Saskatchewan and south as far as New Mexico
- Polygonum polygaloides subsp. esotericum (L.C. Wheeler) J.C. Hickman – California, Oregon
- Polygonum polygaloides subsp. kelloggii (Greene) J.C.Hickman – from British Columbia to Arizona
- Polygonum polygaloides subsp. polygaloides – Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alberta, Montana, Wyoming
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?5936,6248,6281 Jepson Manual Treatment, University of California – Polygonum polygaloides]
- [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Polygonum+polygaloides Polygonum polygaloides – Calphotos Photo gallery, University of California]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7226468}}
Category:Flora of Northern America
Category:Plants described in 1856
{{Polygonaceae-stub}}