|  back  | forward |

Polygonum sagittatum - (image 1 of 5)

Taxonomy

Family: Polygonaceae

Habitat

Marshes, bogs, wet meadows.

Associates

Distribution

Newfoundland and Quebec west to Saskatchewan and south GA to TX.

Morphology

Decumbent annual herb. Stems slender, 4-angled, reflexed prickly, 1-2 m long. Leaves alternate, lanceolate to elliptic, sagittate, prickly along the midrib below; ocreae not foliaceous-expanded. Flowers in short, head-like terminal and axillary racemes on long peduncles; tepals pink to white or green; style about 1.5 mm, trifid in the middle. Achenes trigonous.

Notes

Flowers July to September.

Wetland indicator: Obligate

Note the small, reflexed prickles on the stems, petioles, peduncles, and underside of the leaves that earn this plant the name "Tear-thumb".

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.

The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.

Home