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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE BUCKWHEAT FAMILY | |||||||||
| The buckwheats are common in northern temperate regions like Saskatchewan. The roots are fibrous or taproots. The stems can be solid or hollow, lying on the ground, or upright. The stems may be swollen at the nodes. The leaves can be in basal rosettes or basal and alternate on the stem. At the base of the leaf, some species have fused, papery stipules forming a sheath around the stem. The leaf margins may be smooth, round-toothed, wavy, or lobed. The flowers are usually perfect. The perianth is made of tepals instead of separate petals and sepals. The tepals are petal-like and are white, greenish, pinkish, yellowish, or reddish in colour. Each flower has between six and nine stamens. The fruits are yellowish, brown, red, or black. | |||||||||
| SPURRY KNOTWEED | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Polygonum spergulariiforme | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Spurry knotweed grows up to 50 cm tall. The stems are slender and green with spreading branches. The leaves are distributed uniformly along the stem. The blades are linear and 1-veined. The leaf margin is flat or rolled under. The stipules are fused at the base of the leaf and are 8 to 12 mm long. The flowers are in clusters in the axils of the leaves or at the top of the plant. The tepals are white or pink and petal-like. Each flower has eight stamens. The fruits are black and shiny. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Dense-flowered knotweed grows in dry to moist soils in the prairies. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southwestern Saskatchewan in the Mixed Grassland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Spurry knotweed is endangered because of extreme rarity in Saskatchewan. It is regionally restricted to the southwest corner of the province. No immediate threats are known but may occur in the future. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY SPURRY KNOTWEED | |||||||||
| * Are the tepals white or pink? * Are the leaves linear and 1-veined? * Are the stipules fused at the base? * Did you find it in southwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found spurry knotweed! |
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