Persicaria hydropiper ?;
. Persicaria maculosa from Kashmir : Attachments (3). 4 posts by 3 authors.
Persicaria maculosa Gray (syn: Polygonum persicaria L.) from Kashmir, growing in wet places.
Photographed from Harwan on June 17, 2010.
Common names: Lady’s-thumb, Redshank, Spotted lady’s-thumb , Smart weed
French: Renouée persicaire
Used as medicinal as laxative, cardiac stimulant, and in colds and fevers. Infusion useful as a gargle in inflammation of pharynx. Herb yields an essential oil. Just wanted to ask, how do you differentiate Persicaria from Polygonum? The former complex genus has now been split into at least four major genera. Here is a simpler key:
Flowers in axillary clusters (stamens inflated at base, inner larger; nectaries absent or inconspicuous) …… Polygonum
Flowers in Panicles, Spikes or Heads (All stamens equal, not inflated at base; nectaries present and conspicuous)
Flowers in clusters forming panicle or flat-topped corymb ……. Koenigia
Flowers in well-defined spikes or heads
Plants rhizomatic perennials with prominent basal leaves; styles 3, free and elongate …. Bistorta
Plants annual, rarely perennials with rooting branches; leaves evenly distributed; style 1, bifid or trifid ….. Persicaria Reply from another thread :
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POLYGONACEAE FORTNIGHT 1-14 May 2014: Polygonum hydropiper from Himachal GSG-05 : 5 posts by 3 authors. Attachments (1). Thanks for sharing the photographs Sir! But somehow it doesn’t look like P. hydropiper to me. Could you please share some close shots? With this photograph, it is difficult for me to confirm the ID. P. hydropiper has many allied species and they all look alike. Close up of the inflorescence and ochrea is required. Persicaria longiseta (Bruijn) Kitag. ?? .
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