NameThatPlant.net: Persicaria arifolia

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Persicaria arifolia FAMILY Polygonaceae Go to FSUS key

Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.

Read more about Halberd-leaf Tearthumb at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygonum arifolium FAMILY Polygonaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5 (2005)

Persicaria arifolia

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 063-04-019:

Polygonum arifolium FAMILY Polygonaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Tracaulon arifolium

COMMON NAME:
Halberd-leaf Tearthumb

To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Persicaria arifolia, Halberd-leaf Tearthumb

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_poar6_002_lvd

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_trar6_001_lvd

Gill Newberry gn10_polygonum_arifolium

October

Leaves to 6" long, broadly hastate with flaring triangular lobes, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Persicaria arifolia FAMILY Polygonaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygonum arifolium FAMILY Polygonaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5
Persicaria arifolia

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 063-04-019:
Polygonum arifolium FAMILY Polygonaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Tracaulon arifolium

1117

Forb
Annual

Habitat: marshes, wet thickets, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common in Carolina Coastal Plain, uncommon in NC Piedmont (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Stem, petioles, and major leaf veins (beneath) have abundant recurved prickles

LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Pink
4-parted calyx
Petals absent
Superior ovary
Bisexual

Inflorescence capitate or paniclelike, uninterrupted

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Reddish-brown
Nutlet

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!

"... find an organism, any organism, small, large, gaudy, subtle — anywhere, and they are everywhere — and get a sense of it, its shape, color, size, feel, smell, sound.... Then find a name for it. Learn science’s name, one of countless folk names, or make up your own. To do so is to change everything, including yourself. Because once you start noticing organisms, once you have a name for particular beasts, birds and flowers, you can’t help seeing life and the order in it, just where it has always been, all around you." — Carol Kaesuk Yoon, Reviving the Lost Art of Naming the World

If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".

Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".
Or try alternate spellings: If "wooly" doesn't work, try "woolly" or just "wool".