Persicaria punctata

Persicaria punctata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Tracheophyta- Vascular plants
Class:	Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Order:	Caryophyllanae
Family:	Polygonaceae
Genus:	Persicaria
Species:	P. punctata
Binomial name
Persicaria punctata (Elliott) Small
Natural range of Persicaria punctata from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common name: Dotted Smartweed

Synonym: Polygonum punctatum Elliott

Description

A description of Persicaria punctata is provided in The Flora of North America.

"Annuals or perennials with lanceolate to elliptic leaves. Leaf base cuneate; ocreae with or without cilia. Flowers in racemes arranged paniculately at the apices of stems and branches. Sepals not, or only slightly enlarged in fruit. Nutlets trigonous, biconvex or lenticular." - Radford et al 1964

"Annual or rhizomatous perennial with erect, terete, glabrous or short-strigose stems. Leaves glabrous to short-strigose, 6-15 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, tapered to petioles 2-20 mm long; ocreae strigose, 1-2 cm long, cilia 1-8 mm long. Racemes straight or arching, densely to very loosely flowered. Calyx white or greenish, rarely tinged with red or pink, conspicuously glandular-punctate. Nutlets black, glossy, trigonous or biconvex, 2.5-3 mm long." - Radford et al 1964

Ecology

Habitat

In the Coastal Plain in Florida, P. punctata occurs along wet margins of wax myrtle thickets (FSU Herbarium). Associated species include wax myrtle (FSU Herbarium).

Phenology

Flowers in September (FSU Herbarium).

References and notes

Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: November 2015. Collectors: Cecil R. Slaughter. States and Counties: Florida: St. Johns, Volusia. Compiled by Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy.