Persicaria punctata (Polygonum punctatum)
Illustration: USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
What is Dotted Smartweed?
Physical Characteristics
Leaves:
- Sword-shaped
- 2-6 inches long
- 0.2-0.8 inches wide
- Short leaf stalks
Flowers:
- Green to greenish white in color
- Less than 0.13 inches long
- 5-parted
- 6-8 stamen
Fruit:
- One seeded
- Does not open to release seed when ripe
- Round
- Bulging on both sides
- 0.08-0.13 inches long
- Rough texture
- Dark brown or black in color
- Shiny
Stem:
- 1-3.25 feet tall
- Straight
- Simple or branching
- Green above
- Reddish below
- Slightly swollen above nodes
Roots:
- Rooting at nodes
Where Does it Grow?
USDA, NRCS The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
Dotted smartweed can be found in shallow water in marshes, ponds and ditches.
Pros and Cons of Dotted Smartweed
Smartweed seeds are heavily consumed by ducks, small birds, and small mammals. Submerged portions of all aquatic plants provide habitats for many micro and macro invertebrates. These invertebrates in turn are used as food by fish and other wildlife species (e.g. amphibians, reptiles, ducks, etc). After aquatic plants die, their decomposition by bacteria and fungi provides food (called “detritus”) for many aquatic invertebrates.