Ontario Weeds: Swamp smartweed
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Excerpt from Publication 505, Ontario Weeds,
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Table of Contents
Name: Swamp smartweed, Polygonum
coccineum Muhl.,
Other Names: renouée écarlate,
persicaire des marais
Family: Buckwheat Or Smartweed Family
(Polygonaceae)
General Description: Perennial, reproducing
by seed and by rhizomes that root abundantly from the nodes. Like
Water smartweed, Swamp smartweed also occurs in two forms: terrestrial
and aquatic. The two smartweeds are very similar and nearly impossible
to distinguish from each other before flowering, except that Swamp
smartweed never has a leaf-like flange at the top of its ocrea.
Swamp smartweed. Underground rhizome with 1 flowering shoot and 1 vegetative shoot.
Habitat: Like Water smartweed, Swamp smartweed is also a native plant and occurs in similar habitats throughout Ontario.
Similar Species: It is distinguished from the terrestrial form of Water smartweed by never having a leaf-like flange on its ocrea and from both terrestrial and aquatic forms of Water smartweed by its longer, thinner inflorescence. It is usually coarser than Water smartweed.
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... on weed identification, order OMAFRA
Publication 505: Ontario Weeds
... on weed control, order OMAFRA
Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control
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