Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Persicaria pensylvanica
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Pennsylvania Smartweed at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygonum pensylvanicum
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5 (2005)
Persicaria pensylvanica
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 063-04-008:
Polygonum pensylvanicum FAMILY Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Persicaria pensylvanica
COMMON NAME:
Pennsylvania Smartweed, Pinkweed, Common Smartweed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_pepe19_001_lvd
)
USDA / Selected Weeds of the US. 1970 swus_page_125
)
Keith Bradley kab_p_pensylvanica_73138
March Miami-Dade County FL
)
Keith Bradley kab_p_pensylvanica_73140
March Miami-Dade County FL
)
JK Marlow jkm0308m_01
August Greenville County SC
An erect, branching annual to 4' tall., per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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JK Marlow jkm140804_333
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140804_334
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140804_335
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140804_338
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140822_838
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Ocrea 5-20mm, chartaceous, base inflated, glabrous or appressed-pubescent, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm140822_842
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Upper stem has numerous hairlike glands, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm140822_842b
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Outer tepals with inconspicuous and irregularly-forking veins; tepals 5, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
)
JK Marlow jkm140829_115
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
P. pensylvanica on the left; P. lapathifolia on the right.
)
JK Marlow jkm140829_120
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Ocreae not ciliate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
ocreae of Jumpseed and Smartweed species
)
JK Marlow jkm140829_121
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Leaves up to 5" long, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Gill Newberry gn09_p_persicaria_pen_clo
September
Rather tight, erect cylindric racemes, 1-2" long and 0.5" wide, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Gill Newberry gn09_p_persicaria_pennsyl
September
Stems have a tendency to zigzag between the alternate leaves, per www.illinoiswildflowers.info.
)
JK Marlow jkm140924_950
September Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm180918_4788
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm180918_4790
September Greenville County SC
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_p_pensylvanicum
September
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Persicaria pensylvanica
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygonum pensylvanicum
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5
Persicaria pensylvanica
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 063-04-008:
Polygonum pensylvanicum
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Persicaria pensylvanica
1123
Forb
Annual
Habitat: Disturbed areas, bottomlands, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
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
Pink
(rarely white)
5-parted calyx
Petals absent
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Inflorescence spikelike, uninterrupted
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Brown/Blackish
Nutlet
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p192
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p395
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p004
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p063
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p292
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p060
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p083
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p033
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p258
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".