Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

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Persicaria orientalis

Common name

Princes feathers

Family

Polygonaceae

Where found

Growing from dumped garden refuse, old gardens, moist sites, and in water. Sydney area south to the Nowra district. Occasionally elsewhere.

Notes

Introduced annual herb to 2 m high. Stems densely hairy. Leaves alternating up the stems, 6–22 cm long, 35–120 mm wide, both surfaces with scattered hairs and stalkless glands, stipular sheath  (ocrea) hairy, its expanded top part free from the stem, to 7 mm wide, entire. Flowers with 4-5 pale pink to red 'petals', each 2.5–4.5 mm long, free from each other almost to the base. Spikes cylindrical, often drooping, dense, 35–80 mm long, 5–10 mm in diameter.

Treated as native in NSW, and as doubtfully naturalised in Vic.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Persicaria~orientalis  (accessed 3 April 2021)