Polygonum aviculare can be distinguished from the other most common knotgrass species, polygonum arenastrum, by having leaves on side branches noticeably smaller than those on the main stem.
Common name:
Common knotgrass
Family:
Scientific name:
Polygonum aviculare
Main flower color:
Range:
All of the British Isles
Height:
Usually prostrate; stems are up to 100 cm long
Habitat:
Fields, waste ground, beach margins, verges
Flowers:
Five green tepals (sometimes red along the margins) and five petal-like lobes, pale pink to nearly white, fused at the base. Flowers are produced at the leaf nodes, solitary or in clusters of up to six
Leaves:
Ovate, hairless, sheathed at the base with silver-coloured stipules. Leaves on the main stem are around three times as long as those on the side branches
Season:
June to October
Rarity:
★★★★★
