Polygonum aviculare
Common names
wireweed
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Simplified description
Stems bluish-green, leafy, wiry, extending 10 to 60 cm in all directions from the small taproot and forming adense mat. each joint or node covered with a thin papery sheath. Leaves bluish-green, alternate, oblong, narrowed at the base, pointed at tip. Flowers very small, yellow or white, borne in clusters in the leaf axils (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981).
Flower colours
White, Yellow
Similar taxa
Polygonum arenastrum
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Ecology
Year naturalised
1853
Origin
Europe
Life cycle and dispersal
Seeds small, slender, reddish-brown, triangular (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981).
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). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FAC: Facultative
Commonly occurs as either a hydrophyte or non-hydrophyte (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
aviculare: Small bird
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.
POLAVI