Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)

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Persicaria capitata
(Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don) Masamune, Polygonaceae
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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 13 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Polygonum capitatum Buch.-ham. ex D. Don

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: tou hua liao

English: pinkhead knotweed, pinkhead smartweed

French: couvre-sol, herbe corail

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Mat-forming perennial herbs from a stout woody root; stems prostrate, sometimes rooting at the nodes, 0.5-3.5 dm long, many-branched.  Leaves with a conspicuous purple V-shaped band, occasionally also tinged red or purple, elliptic-ovate to elliptic, 1-4 (-6.2) cm long, 0.6-2.5 (-3.3) cm wide, both surfaces sparsely strigillose, margins glandular ciliate, petioles 1-4 mm long, glandular villous, usually with an auricle that clasps the stem, ocreae reddish brown, tubular, to 6-10 mm long, glandular hirsute, apex glandular ciliate.  Flowers in subglobose or capitate spikes, these 1 to several at the ends of the branches, peduncles with purple glandular hairs; tepals pink, 2-2.5 mm long.  Nuts dark reddish brown, trigonous, ca. 2 mm long, apex beaked, the surface somewhat striate, glossy"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1063).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in wet forest, open lava fields, and along roadsides, 600-1,770 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1063).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Himalayas and western China, widely cultivated (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1063).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Guam
Guam Island
Guam Island introduced
Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 66)
Guam
Guam Island
Guam Island   National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1965) (voucher ID: PTBG 23180)
Taxon name on voucher: Persicaria capitata
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
Hawai‘i (Big) Island introduced
invasive
cultivated
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1060, 1063, 1888)
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
Maui Island introduced
invasive
cultivated
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1060, 1063, 1888)
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
Maui Island introduced
invasive
Oppenheimer, Hank L./Bartlett, Randal T. (2002) (p. 11)
East Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H70069 (BISH)
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
O‘ahu Island introduced
invasive
cultivated
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1060, 1063, 1888)
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
O‘ahu Island introduced
invasive
cultivated
Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2010) (p. 15)
Voucher cited: OED 200807180 (BISH)
Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
China
China
China (People's Republic of) native
Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013)
"Mountain slopes, shaded places in valleys; 600-3500 m".
China
China
Hong Kong introduced
cultivated
Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 82)
Cultivated in gardens.
Japan
Japan
Japan introduced
Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 181)
Malaysia
Malaysia
Malaysia (country of) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand (country) introduced
invasive
Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 972)
"Cultivation escape, steep banks, crevices of walls and amongst rocks near habitations, also less modified habitats such as coastal cliffs".
Singapore
Singapore
Singapore (Republic of) introduced
cultivated
Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 68)
Cultivated only
Thailand
Thailand
Thailand (Kingdom of) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam (Socialist Republic of) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
La Réunion (France)
La Réunion Island
La Réunion Island introduced
invasive
MacDonald, I. A. W./Thebaud, C./Strahm, W. A./Strasberg, D. (1991) (pp. 51-61)
La Réunion (France)
La Réunion Island
La Réunion Island introduced
invasive
cultivated
Lavergne, Christophe (2006)
"Cultivé/envahissant"

Control:  If you know of control methods for Persicaria capitata, please let us know.


Need more info? Have questions? Comments? Information to contribute? Contact PIER! (pier@hear.org)

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This page was created on 30 DEC 2003 and was last updated on 22 AUG 2011.