Bistorta officinalis | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Polygonaceae |
Genus: | Bistorta |
Species: | B. officinalis |
Binomial name | |
Bistorta officinalis Delarbre [1] | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Bistorta officinalis (synonym Persicaria bistorta), known as bistort, common bistort, European bistort, or meadow bistort, is a species of flowering plant in the dock family Polygonaceae native to Europe and northern and western Asia. [1] Other common names include snakeroot, snake-root, snakeweed, and Easter-ledges.
Bistorta officinalis is an herbaceous perennial growing to 20 to 80 centimetres (8 to 31 in) tall by 90 cm (35 in) wide. It has a thick, twisted rootstock which has probably given it its common name of snakeroot. The foliage is normally basal with a few smaller leaves produced near the lower end of the flowering stems. The leaves usually hairless; the basal ones are longish-oval with long winged stalks and rounded or heart-shaped bases; the upper ones are few and are triangular, tapered and stalkless. There are stipules at their base which are fused into a sheath surrounding the stem. The petioles are broadly winged. The inflorescence is a spike. The plant blooms from late spring into autumn, producing tall, erect, unbranched, and hairless stems ending in single terminal racemes that are club-like spikes, 5–7 cm (2–3 in) long, of rose-pink flowers. [2] The individual flowers are pink with five perianth segments, eight stamens, three fused carpels, and three free styles. The fruit is a glossy black nut. Flowering takes place in June and July. [3] The plant grows in moist soils and under dry conditions goes dormant, losing its foliage until adequate moisture exists again.
The generic placement of this species was historically in flux, having been placed in Polygonum or Persicaria but is now accepted as Bistorta. [4]
The Latin name bistorta, from bis ("twice") + torta ("twisted"), refers to the twisted appearance of the root.
Numerous other vernacular names have been recorded for the species in historical texts, though none is used to any extent. Many of the following refer to the plant's use in making puddings:
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Bistort is a native of Europe but is often cultivated and has become naturalized in other parts of the world such as in the United States in New England. It is typically found growing in moist meadows, nutrient-rich wooded swamps, forest edges, wetlands, parks, gardens, and disturbed ground. [6]
This species is grown as an ornamental garden plant, especially the form 'Superba' which has larger, more showy flowers, and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [7] It is suitable for use as a marginal or in bog gardens. Bistort has been cultivated as a vegetable, its roots, leaves, and young shoots being steamed or boiled. Many of its occurrences in the wild may be as a garden escape.
Bistort has been used traditionally for medicinal purposes. The roots are rich in tannic and gallic acids and both these and the leaves have been used to treat wounds. [3]
In Northern England, the plant was used to make a bitter pudding in Lent from a combination of the leaves, oatmeal, egg, and other herbs. It is the principal ingredient of dock pudding or Easter-Ledge pudding. [8] The root of Bistort can be used to produce an astringent that was used in medicine. The roots are also eaten in Russia and northern Asia. [9]
The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name is based on the genus Polygonum, and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1789 in his book, Genera Plantarum. The name may refer to the many swollen nodes the stems of some species have, being derived from Greek [poly meaning 'many' and gony meaning 'knee' or 'joint']. Alternatively, it may have a different origin, meaning 'many seeds'.
Persicaria is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the knotweed family, Polygonaceae. Plants of the genus are known commonly as knotweeds or smartweeds. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, with species occurring nearly worldwide. The genus was segregated from Polygonum.
Polygonum is a genus of about 130 species of flowering plants in the buckwheat and knotweed family Polygonaceae. Common names include knotweed and knotgrass. In the Middle English glossary of herbs Alphita, it was known as ars-smerte. There have been various opinions about how broadly the genus should be defined. For example, buckwheat has sometimes been included in the genus as Polygonum fagopyrum. Former genera such as Polygonella have been subsumed into Polygonum; other genera have been split off.
Bistorta vivipara is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae, commonly known as alpine bistort. Scientific synonyms include Bistorta vivipara and Polygonum viviparum. It is common all over the high Arctic through Europe, North America, incl. Greenland, and temperate and tropical Asia. Its range stretches further south in high mountainous areas such as the Alps, Carpathians, Pyrenees, Caucasus, Alaska and the Tibetan Plateau.
Rumex obtusifolius, commonly known as bitter dock, broad-leaved dock, bluntleaf dock, dock leaf, dockens or butter dock, is a perennial plant in the family Polygonaceae. It is native to Europe, but is found on all temperate continents. It is a highly invasive species in some zones, resulting from its abundant seed dispersal, adaptability to reproduce, aggressive roots, ability to tolerate extreme climates, and hardiness.
Dragonwort is a common name for a plant which may refer to:
Bistorta affinis, the Himalayan bistort, fleece flower, or knotweed, is a species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to the Himalayas.
Persicaria amphibia is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by several common names, including longroot smartweed, water knotweed, water smartweed, and amphibious bistort. It is native to much of North America, Asia, Europe, and parts of Africa, and it grows elsewhere as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed.
Persicaria punctata is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by the common names dotted smartweed and dotted knotweed.
Bistorta is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. As of February 2019 about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate clade by molecular phylogenetic analysis. Bistorta species are native throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere, as far south as Mexico in North America and Thailand in Asia.
Bistorta bistortoides is a perennial herb in the buckwheat and knotweed family Polygonaceae.
Middle Side and Stonygill Meadows is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Teesdale district of County Durham, England. It consists of two separate areas, one to the north of the River Tees, the other on the south bank, about 2 km upstream from the village of Middleton-in-Teesdale. The Park End Wood and Middle Crossthwaite SSSIs lie on the same stretch of floodplain, the Teesdale Allotments SSSI is a short distance to the north, while the higher ground to the south of the river is part of the Upper Teesdale SSSI.
Persicaria longiseta is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by the common names Oriental lady's thumb, bristly lady's thumb, Asiatic smartweed, long-bristled smartweed, low smartweed, Asiatic waterpepper, bristled knotweed, bunchy knotweed, and tufted knotweed. It is native to Asia, and it is present in North America and Europe as an introduced species and often a weed.
Bistorta amplexicaulis, the red bistort or mountain fleece, is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae, native to China, the Himalayas, and Pakistan. It is a damp-loving herbaceous perennial growing to 1.2 m (4 ft) tall and wide, with heart-shaped pointed leaves, downy beneath, and narrow spikes of rose-red or white flowers in summer.
Bistorta macrophylla is a flowering plant species in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae. It is native to mountain regions of West and South China, Bhutan, Nepal, northern India, and Pakistan.
Persicaria decipiens, commonly known as slender knotweed, is a species of flowering plant native to Australia and Asia.
Polygonoideae is a subfamily of plants in the family Polygonaceae. It includes a number of plants that can be highly invasive, such as Japanese knotweed, Reynoutria japonica, and its hybrid with R. sachalinensis, R. × bohemica. Boundaries between the genera placed in the subfamily and their relationships have long been problematic, but a series of molecular phylogenetic studies have clarified some of them, resulting in the division of the subfamily into seven tribes.
Rumex utahensis is a flowering plant species in the family Polygonaceae. The common name for this species is Utah dock. It is a dicot, perennial herb that is native to the United states, growing only in the West.
Rumex occidentalis is a flowering plant species belonging to the family Polygonaceae. Commonly known as western dock, Rumex occidentalis can be found in parts of Western North America.
Bistorta plumosa is a flowering plant species in the family Polygonaceae, or buckwheat family. Common names for Bistorta Plumosa include meadow bistort. Bistorta plumosa is monoecious, with flowers containing both male and female reproductive parts that are pollinated by insects. Birstorta plumosa flowers annually in the summer months from May to June and can be found in habitats ranging from moist to dry sites and tundra in North America, Alaska, Yukon, the Northwest Territory, and East Asia.