Persicaria virginiana

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Persicaria virginiana
Persicaria virginiana.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Persicaria
Species:
P. virginiana
Binomial name
Persicaria virginiana
POVI2.png
Range within North America
Synonyms [2]
  • Polygonum virginianum L. 1753
  • Antenoron virginianum(L.) Roberty & Vautier
  • Tovara virginiana(L.) Raf.

Persicaria virginiana, also called jumpseed, [3] Virginia knotweed or woodland knotweed [4] is a North American species of smartweed within the buckwheat family. It is unusual as a shade-tolerant member of a mostly sun-loving genus. Jumpseed is a perennial, named for its seeds which can "jump" several feet when a ripe seedpod is disturbed.

Contents

Persicaria virginiana blooms in midsummer to late summer/early fall. It has a stalk of small white flowers. [5]

Description

Like other Persicaria, jumpseed has alternate leaves, with fine-hairy stipular sheaths (ocrea) with bristle-fringed edges which often turn brownish. Flowers, widely spaced along slender stalks, are white to greenish-white, rarely pink-tinged, and fruiting flowers have two downward-pointing hook-tipped styles. [4] Persicaria virginiana is easily distinguished from most other Persicaria species by its much larger, more oval-shaped leaves, although a few species also have large leaves. It sometimes has a chevron-shaped marking on the leaves; often a single plant will have this marking on some leaves but not others.

Cultivars and naturalized populations from cultivation show much greater variation than wild-type plants, sometimes having variegation or have more involved red patterning, and sometimes having red or pink flowers.

Distribution and habitat

Persicaria virginiana has a wide native range throughout most of eastern North America (from Ontario and Quebec, south to Florida, and west as far as Texas, Nebraska, and Minnesota/), [3] [6] [7] as well as Japan and the Himalayas. [8] [9]

It naturally occurs in full to partial shade, on riverbanks, woods, cliffs, and rocks. [10]

Cultivation

Many variegated cultivars exist including 'Variegata' and 'Painter's Palette'. [9] The cultivated plant prefers medium to moist soil and full sun to part shade. [11]

References

  1. ↑ NatureServe (3 July 2025). "Persicaria virginiana". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer (Web application). Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  2. ↑ "Persicaria virginiana (L.) Gaertn.", Tropicos , Missouri Botanical Garden
  3. 1 2 NRCS, "Persicaria virginiana", PLANTS Database, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), retrieved 12 October 2015
  4. 1 2 David M., Brandenburg (2010), National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Wildflowers of North America, New York: Sterling Publishing, p. 432, ISBN   978-1402741548
  5. ↑ Hinds, Harold R.; Freeman, Craig C. (2005), "Persicaria virginiana", in Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.), Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA), vol. 5, New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA
  6. ↑ Kartesz, John T. (2014), "Persicaria virginiana", County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA), Biota of North America Program (BONAP)
  7. ↑ "Map Key". 2010 BONAP North American Plant Atlas. 2011-02-18. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  8. ↑ "Persicaria virginiana". Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  9. 1 2 Barbara W. Ellis. Covering Ground: Unexpected Ideas for Landscaping with Colorful, Low-Maintenance Ground Covers. Storey Publishing, 2012. p. 154. ISBN   9781612122168
  10. ↑ "Persicaria virginiana", Plants of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium, archived from the original on 2013-05-30
  11. ↑ "Persicaria virginiana (Variegata Group)", Plant Finder, Missouri Botanical Garden
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