Species: Polygonum scandens var. scandens L.

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Polygonum scandens var. scandens L.

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TAXONOMY

Family:

Polygonaceae

Genus:

Polygonum

Species Synonyms:

Fallopia scandens (L.) Holub
Bilderdykia scandens (L.) Greene
Polygonum dumetorum var. scandens (L.) Gray
Reynoutria scandens (L.) Shinners
Tiniaria scandens (L.) Small

Common Names:

climbing false buckwheat

DISTRIBUTION

Canada:

southwestern and east-central Saskatchewan – southern Manitoba – Ontario – Quebec – Newfoundland – Nova Scotia

Saskatchewan:

southwestern and east-central Saskatchewan; Cypress Hills - Swift Current, Thunder Hill – Duck Mountain (Bear Head Lake) - Jan Lake

Ecoregion:

Cypress Upland, Mixed Grassland, Aspen Parkland, Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Upland, Mid-Boreal Lowland, Churchill River Upland

HABITAT

Saskatchewan:

moist shrubland, open woods, clearings, wet shaded shores, and roadsides

Canada:

damp thickets, clearings, and shores

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Threatened

Nature Conservancy Status:

G5 S1S2

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

None

Climbing false buckwheat is threatened because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan. No immediate threats are known but may occur in the future.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Height:

1 – 5 m long

Stems:

twining, herbaceous, climbing or sprawling, sharply angled, hairless or bumpy, not bluish

Leaves:

2 – 7, blade 2 – 14 cm long, broadly oval, base heart-shaped, tip long-tapered, rough hairy, margin wavy; stalk 0.5 – 10 cm; stipules fused usually deciduous, 1 – 6 mm, oblique, tan or brown

Inflorescence:

unbranched, axillary, 5 – 15 cm, erect or spreading, interrupted, flowers 3 – 6 per secondary sheath; inflorescence stalk 0.1 – 7 cm or absent

Flowers:

tepals 3.8 – 8 mm, green to white or pinkish, hairless; stamens 8, hairy proximally; styles fused, stigmas head-like

Fruits:

3 – 6 mm, dark brown to black, shiny, smooth, wings wavy or crinkled

POLYGONUM KEY FOR SPECIES FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN

1 Flowers solitary or in small axillary clusters; leaves jointed at the base with the stalk, small; outer tepals may be boat-shaped; fused stipules often dry and membranous, 2-lobed	2
1 Flowers in spike-like clusters; leaves not jointed at the base with the stalk, large; outer tepals may be winged or unwinged, but not boat-shaped (except in P. cilinode and P. convolvulus); fused stipules papery	9

2 Inflorescence compact	3
2 Inflorescence a slender, open, unbranched	5

3 Fruits black, smooth and shiny; tepals rounded	P. spergulariiforme
3 Fruits yellowish to dark brown, not shiny; tepals pointed	4

4 Bracts definitely white-margined; stems to 20 cm tall	P. polygaloides var. confertiflorum
4 Bracts only slightly white-margined, if at all; stems less than 20 cm	P. polygaloides var. kelloggii

5 Flowers on reflexed stalks	P. douglasii ssp. douglasii
5 Flowers ascending or spreading	6

6 Fruits shiny; leaves linear to lance-shaped	P. ramosissimum
6 Fruits dull; leaves oval	7

7 Tepals bottle-shaped, outer tepal hooded	P. achoreum
7 Tepals not constricted below the tip, outer tepal not hooded	8

8 Leaves on the branches the same size as the ones attached directly to the stem; sepals with greenish-white or pink margins	P. arenastrum (= P. aviculare ssp. depressum)
8 Leaves on the branches much smaller than the ones attached directly to the stem; sepals with white, pink or purple margins	P. aviculare

9 Stems slender and twining; leaves broad, base arrow-shaped	10
9 Stems not twining; leaves linear to lance-shaped, base not arrow-shaped	12

10 Fused stipules with a ring of bristles	P. cilinode (= Fallopia cilinodes)
10 Fused stipules lacking bristles	11

11 Fruiting sepals to 5 mm long, wings small; plants annual	P. convolvulus var. convolvulus (= Fallopia convolvulus)
11 Fruiting sepals to 1.5 cm long, wings broad; plants perennial	P. scandens var. scandens (= Fallopia scandens)

12 Leaves mainly basal, stem leaves few and reduced	P. viviparum (= Bistorta vivipara)
12 Leaves mainly on the stem, well-developed	13

13 Fused stipules with bristles at the summit	14
13 Fused stipules without bristles	15

14 Rhizomes forking; perennials; fused stipules expanded at the top to create a rim; spikes to 2 cm thick; tepals not glandular	P. amphibium var. stipulaceum (= Persicaria amphibia)
14 Roots fibrous; fused stipules not expanded at the top; spikes slender, less than 2 cm thick; tepals glandular	P. punctatum var. confertiflorum (= Persicaria punctata)

15 Annuals, terrestrial; roots fibrous; spikes terminal and axillary, numerous	P. lapathifolium var. lapathifolium (= Persicaria lapathifolia)
15 Perennials, often aquatic; rhizomes forking; spikes terminal, solitary or paired	16

16 Leaf stalks attached near base of fused stipules; leaves and upper stems hairless to sparsely straight-hairy	P. coccineum var. coccineum (= Persicaria amphibia)
16 Leaf stalks attached midway on fused stipules; leaves and upper stems densely ashy-gray hairy	P. coccineum var. pratincola (= Persicaria amphibia)