Species

Polygonum aviculare

Etymology

aviculare: small bird

Common Name(s)

wireweed

Authority

Polygonum aviculare L.

Family

Polygonaceae

Brief Description

Stems bluish-green, leafy, wiry, extending 10 to 60 cm in all directions from the small taproot and forming adense mat. each joint or node covered with a thin papery sheath. Leaves bluish-green, alternate, oblong, narrowed at the base, pointed at tip. Flowers very small, yellow or white, borne in clusters in the leaf axils (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981).

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

POLAVI

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Similar Taxa

Polygonum arenastrum

Flower Colours

White,Yellow

Year Naturalised

1853

Origin

Europe

Reproduction
Seed.

Seed
Seeds small, slender, reddish-brown, triangular (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981).

This page last updated on 6 Feb 2016