Persicaria capitata

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Distribution Map: Based on vouchered plant specimens only. View county names by placing the mouse cursor over a particular county.

Species Distribution Map
Family:POLYGONACEAE
Species:Persicaria capitata (Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don) H. Gross
Common Name:Pinkhead Smartweed
Habitat:Highly disturbed ruderal areas.
Associated Ecological Communities:**
Growth Habit:Herb
Duration:Annual
Category:Vascular
USDA Symbol:**
Plant Notes:Pinkhead Smartweed is an introduced evergreen herbaceous perennial in the Buckwheat family (Polygonaceae). It is native to Bhutan, China, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental ground cover in Alabama and has been reported as an escape in low urban woodlands. Pinkhead Smartweed is a creeping evergreen perennial. The stems are much branched, root at the nodes, and are glabrous to sparsely glandular pubescent. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, glandular pubescent on both surfaces, ovate in outline, glandular hairy along the entire margins, with a large angled blackish bar on the upper surface. The ocrea is tubular, membranous, sparsely glandular pubescent, and ciliate along the margin. Flowers are produced in capitate terminal inflorescences. Individual flowers have a 5-parted white to pinkish perianth, 3 styles, and 8 stamens. The fruit is a black, shiny, 3-angled achene enclosed by the persistent perianth. This species has become invasive in Australia, Ireland, South Africa, Taiwan, and the United States. It spreads both vegetatively and by seed. It is widely used in China for the treatment of various urologic disorders.—A. Diamond.
Taxonomic Notes:First collected in Alabama by Alvin Diamond in 2020 from Montgomery County.
Status:Not Native
References:Diamond, A.R. and B.R. Keener. 2021. Three non-native vascular plant species new to the flora of Alabama. Castanea 86(2) 273-277.
Specimen: View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

FamilyPOLYGONACEAE - Buckwheat family
Genus Persicaria
Species Persicaria capitata (Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don) H. Gross - Pinkhead Smartweed

Citation

Citation Persicaria capitata (Buchanan-Hamilton ex D. Don) H. Gross, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 49(2): 277. 1913.
Basionym: Polygonum capitatum Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don 1825.
Type: **

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

SynonymFull CitationBasionymType
Polygonum capitatum Polygonum capitatum Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don, Prodr. Fl. Nepal. 73. 1825. NEPAL

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Montgomery

Counties represented by specimen data listed below:

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, TROY

Range of years during which specimens were collected: -

Barcode / Accession No. County Coll. Date Collector &
Collection No.		 Herbarium &
Herbarium Name Used		 Image
TROY000050920 Montgomery 01 Nov 2020 Diamond, Alvin R.
29512		 TROY
Persicaria capitata (Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don) H. Gross
ALNHS00008187 Montgomery 10 May 2023 Barger, T. Wayne
SP#6034		 ALNHS
Persicaria capitata (Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don) H. Gross
ALNHS00008188 Montgomery 10 May 2023 Barger, T. Wayne
SP#6034		 ALNHS
Persicaria capitata (Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don) H. Gross
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