Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Persicaria prostrata
Common name
Creeping knotweed
Family
Polygonaceae
Where found
Gullies, sandy or rocky banks of streams, and other damp places, sometimes in water. Widespread. Mostly ACT and tablelands.
Notes
Perennial herb, prostrate or sprawling, often with a woody rootstock. Stems to about 40 cm long, sparsely to rather densely hairy, occasionally sticky hairy . Leaves alternating along the stems, 1-7 cm long, 3-10 mm wide, somewhat hairy, occasionally slightly sticky hairy, margins and main veins often with short hairs. Stipular sheath (ocrea) hairy, its expanded top part free from the stem, margin lobed and toothed, fringing hairs 1–2 mm long. Flowers pinkish, brown, or white to green, with 4-5 'petals' each 1.8-3 mm long, free from each other from about midway. Flowers in round to shortly cylindrical spikes 6-40 mm long. Flowers Dec.–May.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Persicaria~prostrata (accessed 30 January, 2021)
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