User:NisJørgensen/Draft:Persicaria

Persicaria is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the knotweed family, Polygonaceae. Plants of the genus are known commonly as knotweeds or smartweeds. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, with species occurring nearly worldwide. The genus was segregated from Polygonum.

Description
The genus includes annual and perennial herbs with taproots or fibrous root systems, or with rhizomes or stolons. The stems are often erect but may be prostrate along the ground, and some species are prickly. The stems are self-supporting or twining and climbing. The leaves are alternately arranged, deciduous, and variously shaped. The brownish or reddish ochrea may be leathery to papery. The inflorescence may be a panicle or a spikelike or headlike arrangement of fascicles of flowers. The flower is white, greenish, reddish, or purple, with the tepals partially fused together along the bases. The fruit is an achene which can take a number of shapes, including a disc or a sphere.

Diversity
There are about 66, 100 to 150 species in this genus, depending on how it is defined.

Species names include:
 * Persicaria acuminata (Kunth) M. Gómez
 * Persicaria alpina – alpine knotweed
 * Persicaria amphibia (syn. Polygonum amphibium) – amphibious bistort, water smartweed
 * Persicaria amplexicaulis (syn. Polygonum amplexicaule) – mountain fleece, red bistort
 * Persicaria arcuata (Greene) Greene
 * Persicaria arifolia – halberd-leaf tearthumb
 * Persicaria attenuata (R.Br.) Sojak
 * Persicaria barbata (L.) H.Hara
 * Persicaria bicornis – pink smartweed
 * Persicaria bistorta (syn. Polygonum bistorta) – common bistort
 * Persicaria bungeana – prickly smartweed
 * Persicaria caespitosa (Blume) Nakai
 * Persicaria campanulata (syn. Polygonum campanulatum) – lesser knotweed
 * Persicaria capitata (syn. Polygonum capitatum) – pink-head knotweed, Japanese knotweed
 * Persicaria chinensis – Chinese knotweed
 * Persicaria cliopolitana (Hance) Yonekura & H. Ohashi
 * Persicaria decipiens – slender knotweed, willow-weed
 * Persicaria dichotoma
 * Persicaria dubia (Stein ex A. Br.) Fourr.
 * Persicaria elatior is an unresolved name, may be a synonym of Polygonum elatius R.Br.
 * Persicaria extremiorientalis
 * Persicaria ferruginea (Wedd.) Soják
 * Persicaria foliosa (H. Lindb.) Kitag.
 * Persicaria glabra – smooth smartweed
 * Persicaria glandulopilosa (De Wild.) Soják
 * Persicaria glomerata (Dammer) S.Ortiz & Paiva
 * Persicaria hirsuta – hairy smartweed
 * Persicaria hispida (Kunth) M.Gómez
 * Persicaria hybrida (Chaub.) Soják
 * Persicaria hydropiper (syn. Polygonum hydropiper) – water-pepper, marsh-pepper smartweed
 * Persicaria hydropiperoides – swamp smartweed, mild water-pepper
 * Persicaria hystricula (J.Schust.) Soják
 * Persicaria lanigera (R.Br.) Soják
 * Persicaria laxmannii (Lepech.) H. Gross
 * Persicaria lapathifolia (syn. Polygonum lapathifolium) – pale persicaria
 * Persicaria laxmannii (Lepech.) H. Gross
 * Persicaria limbata (Meisn.) H. Hara
 * Persicaria longiseta (syn. Polygonum longisetum) – bristly lady's thumb
 * Persicaria maculata (Raf.) Gray
 * Persicaria maculosa (syn. Polygonum persicaria) – Jesusplant, spotted lady's thumb, redshank
 * Persicaria madagascariensis (Meisn.) S. Ortiz & Paiva
 * Persicaria meisneriana – Mexican tearthumb
 * Persicaria milletii is an unresolved name that may be synonymous with Polygonum milletii
 * Persicaria minor (syn. Polygonum minus) – small water-pepper
 * Persicaria mitis (syn. Polygonum mite)
 * Persicaria mollis (D. Don) H. Gross is a synonym of Polygonum molle D. Don
 * Persicaria nepalensis (syn. Polygonum nepalense) – Nepal knotweed
 * Persicaria nogueirae S.Ortiz & Paiva
 * Persicaria obtusifolia (Täckh. & Boulos) Greuter & Burdet
 * Persicaria odorata is unresolved, but may be synonymous with Polygonum odoratum Lour. – Vietnamese coriander
 * Persicaria orientalis (syn. Polygonum orientale) – kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate, prince's feather, princess-feather
 * Persicaria paraguayensis (Wedd.) S.T. Kim & Donoghue
 * Persicaria pensylvanica (syn. Polygonum pensylvanicum) – Pennsylvania smartweed
 * Persicaria poiretii (Meisn.) K.L. Wilson
 * Persicaria prostrata – creeping knotweed is an unresolved species name
 * Persicaria pulchra (Blume) Soják
 * Persicaria punctata (syn. Polygonum punctatum) – dotted knotweed
 * Persicaria robustior – stout smartweed
 * Persicaria sagittata (syn. Polygonum sagittatum) – American tearthumb, arrowleaf tearthumb, arrowvine
 * Persicaria segetum (Kunth) Small
 * Persicaria senegalensis
 * Persicaria setacea – bog smartweed
 * Persicaria setosula (A. Rich.) K.L. Wilson
 * Persicaria sinuata (Royle ex Bab.) Rajbh. & R. Joshi
 * Persicaria stagnina (Buch.-Ham. ex Meisn.) Qaiser
 * Persicaria strigosa – spotted knotweed
 * Persicaria tenella (Blume) H. Hara
 * Persicaria tenuicaulis (Bisset & S. Moore) Cubey is an unresolved name
 * Persicaria tinctoria (Polygonum tinctorium) – Chinese indigo, polygonum-indigo
 * Persicaria virginiana (Polygonum virginianum) – jumpseed
 * Persicaria vivipara (L.) Ronse Decr.
 * Persicaria wallichii (Polygonum wallichii) – Himalayan knotweed, Kashmir plume
 * Persicaria weyrichii (F. Schmidt) H. Gross