PINK SMARTWEED,Pennsylvania smartweed, Pink knotweed, Pinkweed, Polygonum pensylvanicum -Polygonaceae, Buckwheat Family
DESCRIPTION: Flowering herbaceous annual or perennial with jointed stems
Height: Erect, growing to 48 inches
Flowers: White to pink, in dense spike-like cluster 2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide, late spring to late fall
Fruit: Shiny black achenes
Foliage: Green, oblong and pointed 6 inches long to 1 inch wide
Growth rate: Fast
REQUIREMENTS:
Sun: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Mud or shallow water
Drainage: Poor
Water: High water requirement
Maintenance: Little
Propagation: Seeds
NATIVE HABITAT: Resaca, ponds, quiet streams, canals, ditches and swamps
WILDLIFE USE: Browse for deer. Many birds and mammals eat the seeds.
COMMENTS: This showy pond plant is ideal for planting at the edge of your pond, resaca or wetland. All smartweeds will produce a burning sensation if tasted. Or as the Germans say "smeorten", which is where the term smartweed comes from. |
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