Persicaria maculosa
Common name
willow weed
Synonyms
Polygonum persicaria
Family
Polygonaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
POLPER
Conservation status
Not applicable
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland).
FACW: Facultative Wetland
Usually is a hydrophyte but occasionally found in uplands (non-wetlands).
Features
Stems smooth sometimes hairy, much-branched, 15 to 90 cm tall. Leaves alternate, pointed at both ends, 2.5 to 15 cm long, with smooth edges and usually a dark spot in the middle. Sheath at base of the leaf fringed with short bristles (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981).
Flower colours
Red/Pink, White
Year naturalised
1878
Origin
Temperate N. Hemisphere.
Etymology
persicaria: Medieval name referring to the likeness of the leaves to a peach tree
maculosa: From Latin ‘macula’ blotch, meaning full of blotches or mottled
Seed
Seeds almost circular, flattened