Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Persicaria hydropiperoides
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Mild Waterpepper at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygonum hydropiperoides
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5 (2005)
Persicaria hydropiperoides
INCLUDING VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 063-04-016a:
Polygonum hydropiperoides var. hydropiperoides FAMILY Polygonaceae
INCLUDING Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968)
Polygonum hydropiperoides var. opelousanum
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Persicaria hydropiperoides
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Persicaria opelousana
COMMON NAME:
Mild Waterpepper, Swamp Smartweed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_pehy7_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_peop3_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_pohy2_004_lvd
)
Gill Newberry gn09_p_persicaria_hydropi
September
Flowers without dotted glands, in erect spikes with gaps between clusters, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm140909_509b
September Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Calyx roseate below, pink or cream-white at the lobe apices, per Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981).
)
JK Marlow jkm140909_514
September Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
With the habit of P. setaceum, but more slender and of lower stature, per Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981).
)
JK Marlow jkm140909_514b
September Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Leaves usually less than 15mm wide, 3.5 or more times longer than wide, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999).
)
JK Marlow jkm140909_515
September Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
Gill Newberry gn10_p_persicaria_hydrope
October
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Persicaria hydropiperoides
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygonum hydropiperoides
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5
Persicaria hydropiperoides
INCLUDING
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 063-04-016a:
Polygonum hydropiperoides var. hydropiperoides
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
INCLUDING
Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968)
Polygonum hydropiperoides var. opelousanum
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Persicaria hydropiperoides
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Persicaria opelousana
1973
Terrestrial or sometimes semi-aquatic; Forb
Perennial
Habitat: swamp forests, streams, ditches, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in GA & NC Mountains)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Stems, petioles and leaves unarmed
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Usually white
4-parted calyx
Petals absent
Superior ovary
Bisexual, or often functionally unisexual
Inflorescence spikelike, uninterrupted or interrupted proximally
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Brown
Nutlet
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Field Guide to Aquatic Plants of Alabama (Lovell, 2007) p30
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p206
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p004
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p291
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p083
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p034
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p248
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