Slender Knotweed

Images ©:
©Persicaria decipiens Russel Best CC2.5, Persicaria decipiens Chris Clarke CC2.5

Persicaria decipiens

Prostrate aquatic or terrestrial spreading herb rooting from leaf nodes. Lance-shaped leaves often with a dark splotch. Small bright pink flowers in a slender spike. Leaves and stems are sometimes red.

Details
Flora Type
Herbs
Former Scientific Name
Polygonum minus, Polygonum decipiens
Distinctive Features

Hairless stem-sheaths fringed by bristles, at the base of the leaves.
Biology

Annual or perennial. Watercourses, winter wet depressions and wetlands in a range of habitats including wetlands, woodlands, sedgelands and riparian scrub.
Native Status
Native
Flowering Time

Dec-Apr
Taxonomy
Phylum
Tracheophyta (Vascular Plants)
Class
Magnoliopsida (Flowering Plants)
Order
Caryophyllales
Family
Polygonaceae
Genus
Persicaria
Species
decipiens

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

The stem of some Persicaria species was eaten by Aboriginal people as a food source, and the stem and leaf were used as fish poisons. Important food source for a range of birds.

Interesting Facts
Native Status
Native