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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. | |||||||||
| ALPINE BISTORT | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Polygonum viviparum | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Alpine bistort grows as tall as 30 cm from fibrous roots and a short, twisted rhizome. The stems are solitary and erect. The leaves are mostly basal and there are only two to four stem leaves. The leaves are wedge-shaped to heart-shaped at the base. The stipules are open down one side and are brown, dry, and membranous. The flowers are in a solitary, terminal cluster. Some of the flowers may be replaced with pink or brown bulblets. The flowers are greenish and white or pinkish with reddish or purplish anthers. Fruits are rarely produced by this species. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Alpine bistort grows on pond margins, marshy shores, depressions in treed bogs and fens, and shrubby tundra meadows. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in northern to central Saskatchewan in the Mid-Boreal Upland, Mid-Boreal Lowland, and Selwyn Lake Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Alpine bistort is threatened because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan. It is only somewhat regionally restricted but most local populations are small. No immediate threats are known but may occur in the future. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY ALPINE BISTORT | |||||||||
| * Are leaves mostly basal? * Are the stems unbranched? * Are the stipules brown and dry? * Did you find in northern or central Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found alpine bistort! | |||||||||
