Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
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Polygonum aviculare
Wireweed, Hogweed
Polygonaceae
Grassy areas, disturbed sites and roadsides. Mainly Sydney area and Canberra. Widespread elsewhere but not common.
Introduced annual or biennial herb, commonly mat-forming, sometimes erect when among taller plants, with stems to 1.2 m long. Stems hairless. Leaves alternating along the stems, 0.8-5 cm long, 2-18 mm wide, with a silvery stipular sheath at the base, soon disintegrating, surfaces hairless, margins flat or wavy, tips pointed. Leaves decrease in size towards the ends of the stems. Flowers 1.8-3.5 mm long, with 5 ‘petals‘ joined at the base, 'petals' white or pink, sometimes red outside or greenish with pink or white margins, in clusters of 1-5. Flowers mostly Dec.–May.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Polygonum~aviculare (accessed 22 January, 2021)
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