Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Persicaria capitata

Flowers and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, ACT

Flowers and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, ACT

Flowers and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, ACT

Common name

Japanese Knotweed

Family

Polygonaceae

Where found

Occasionally naturalized, particularly near habitations. Coast and Blue Mountains. Occasionally elsewhere. Doubtfully naturalised in the ACT.

Notes

Introduced herb, prostrate. Stems hairy, often brown or pink. Leaves alternating up the stems, 1–6 cm long, 7–30 mm wide, often with pink to red bands or blotches, hairy with short scattered hairs, stalks 0–2 mm long, often with a leaf-like outgrowth from the base, stipular sheath (ocrea) with numerous hairs, fringing hairs at the top to 1 mm long. Flowers with 4-5 pink 'petals' 2.5–3.7 mm long, in oval to round dense clusters 5–10 mm long, 5–7 mm in diameter.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Persicaria~capitata  (accessed 29 January, 2021)