More than 2200 species of the wild flora and fauna photographed in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico and the surrounding area.
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Pinks, Cactuses and Allies of Zihuatanejo
ORDER CAROPHYLLALES
Swamp Smartweed
Persicaria hydropiperoides
Flowers by Colour
-Vascular Plants (Phylum Tracheophyta)
-Flowering Plants (Subphylum Angiospermae)
-Pinks, Cactuses, and Allies (Order Caryophyllales)
-Knotweed Family (Family Polygonaceae)
-Subfamily Polygonoideae
-Tribe Persicarieae
-Subtribe Persicariinae
-Knotweeds, Smartweeds, and Waterpeppers (Genus Persicaria)
-Swamp Smartweed (Persicaria hydropiperoides)
Grows in moist to swampy areas, often growing in mud. All parts of this plant have an acrid pepper-like flavour, and the plant has a long history of use in traditional medicine.
Description
Persicaria hydropiperoides, commonly known as swamp smartweed or mild water-pepper, is a herbaceous perennial in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae).
It has slender, often branching stems and alternate, lance-shaped leaves with pointed tips and swollen nodes.
Small pink to whitish flowers grow in slender, elongated clusters at the ends of stems and branches.
The plant resembles other smartweeds but generally has a milder peppery taste than water-pepper (Persicaria hydropiper).
Range
Native to North America, where it occurs widely across Canada, the United States, and parts of Mexico, with its range extending into Central and South America.
It is native to Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, and the surrounding area.
Habitat
Grows in wetlands, marshes, pond margins, stream banks, ditches, and other seasonally or permanently wet habitats.
Favours moist to saturated soils in sunny or partially shaded locations.
Often grows in shallow water or along the muddy edges of freshwater habitats.
