Family Polygonaceae
Description: Annual or perennial herbs, shrubs or climbers; stems often with swollen nodes, the nodes surrounded by a membranous or scarious sheath (ocrea), usually shortly tubular, often disintegrating [or reduced or rarely absent].
Leaves alternate, opposite or whorled, simple and usually entire, petiolate or sessile, sometimes articulate; sunken (pit) nectaries sometimes present at base of petiole on lower surface.
Inflorescence a raceme or spike-like panicle; flowers clustered or solitary, each cluster subtended by an ocreola and each flower by a similar small persistent sheath. Flowers actinomorphic, bisexual or unisexual (plants dioecious or monoecious); pedicels mostly articulate, with portion ('fruiting pedicel') falling with fruit. Perianth segments mostly 4–6 in 2 whorls, imbricate, united at least at base, sepaloid and greenish or petaloid and white to deep pink, persistent, often enlarged in fruit and membranous, hard or succulent. Stamens mostly 2–9; anthers versatile or basifixed, 2-locular, longitudinally dehiscent. Ovary superior, 1-locular with a solitary basal ovule; styles 1–4, free or fused at base; stigmas variable.
Fruit an achene, trigonous or lenticular, mostly enclosed by persistent perianth and falling as a unit with portion of pedicel.
Distribution and occurrence: World: 55 gen., 1115 spp., cosmop., especially in N temp. regions. Aust.: 10 gen. (4 gen. native), 57 spp., all States.
External links:
Angiosperm Phylogeny Website (Family: Polygonaceae, Order: Caryophyllales)
Wikipedia Various species are cultivated as ornamentals or food crops, including Antigonon leptopus Hook. & Arn. (Coral Vine), Fagopyrum esculentum Moench (Buckwheat), Muehlenbeckia platyclada (Homalocladium platycladum), Persicaria odorata (Lour.) Sojak (Vietnamese Mint), Persicaria orientalis (L.) Spach (Princes Feathers), Rheum x rhabarbarum L. (Rhubarb). Various species are weedy, especially introduced species of Rumex (Docks and Sorrel).
Text by K. L. Wilson; key updated by H. Sauquet (Oct 2020)
Taxon concept:
| | Key to the genera | |
| 1 | Perianth segments 4 or 5; anthers versatile | 2 |
| Perianth segments 6 (occasionally 5); anthers basifixed | Rumex |
| 2 | Ocreas entire, tubular, often only shortly so and soon disintegrating, pale brown, upper margin often ciliate or with a green limb; stamen filaments subulate or filiform | 3 |
| Ocreas lacerate, often nearly to base, glabrous, silvery or white; stamen filaments subulate above, widely dilated in lower half
Back to 1 | Polygonum |
| 3 | Shrubs with thorn-like branch tips; extrafloral nectaries absent | Duma |
| Vines or shrubs without thorn-like branch tips; extrafloral nectaries present or absent
Back to 2 | 4 |
| 4 | Flowers mostly unisexual; stigmas elongate or peltate, fimbriate; extrafloral nectary present at base of petiole on abaxial surface | 5 |
| Flowers bisexual; stigmas capitate, usually smooth; petiolar nectaries absent or present
Back to 3 | 6 |
| 5 | Outer 3 perianth segments winged in fruit; stigmas shortly elongate; rhizomatous perennials with stout erect annual stems | Reynoutria |
| Perianth segments not winged but often enlarged in fruit, and becoming fleshy or membranous; stigmas peltate; slender perennial shrubs or woody herbs or climbers, not rhizomatous
Back to 4 | Muehlenbeckia |
| 6 | Nut much exceeding perianth segments | Fagopyrum |
| Nut enclosed by perianth segments
Back to 4 | 7 |
| 7 | Outer 3 perianth segments winged or keeled in fruit; twining or decumbent, slender but woody herbs; nectary present at base of petiole | Fallopia |
| Perianth segments not winged or keeled; erect to procumbent non-woody herbs, slender to stout; nectaries absent
Back to 6 | Persicaria |
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