Swamp Smartweed
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Polygonum
Species: P. hydropiperoides
General Characteristics: Swamp Smartweed is a member of the buckwheat family (family Polygonaceae) which includes mostly herbs, sometimes shrubs or vines, rarely trees, with small flowers in racemes, spike-like clusters, or in heads. Stems commonly have swollen nodes. (The family name refers to this, deriving from Greek words meaning many knees.) There are about 40 genera and 800 species, chiefly in north temperate regions. Rhubarb and Buckwheat are sources of food, and a few species are grown as ornamentals. The plant is an erect to sprawling, perennial, up to 40" tall forb; stems with nodes always hairy; from rhizomes. The flower is white-green to pink, petals and petal-like sepals connected at the base; inflorescence thin, erect clusters often interrupted toward the base on usually hairy stalks jointed at the top. The leaf is alternate, lance-like to linear, mostly less than 1 1/2" wide
Special Adaptations: It can live in wet beaches, marshes, and shallows.
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