Polygonaceae
Persicaria

Persicaria nepalensis (Meisn.) H.Gross

First published in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 49: 277 (1913)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Eritrea to KwaZulu-Natal, Madagascar, Tropical & Subtropical Asia to Russian Far East. It is an annual and grows primarily in the subtropical biome. It is used as animal food and a medicine, has environmental uses and social uses and for food.

Descriptions

Polygonaceae, I. Nogueira, S. Ortiz & J.A.R. Paiva. Flora Zambesiaca 9:3. 2006

Morphology General Habit
A slender spreading or procumbent annual herb, rooting at the lower nodes.
Morphology Stem
Stem pale green, greenish-brown or red to bright red, ascending up to 50 cm, glabrous or with scattered gland-tipped hairs, these more numerous below the ocrea.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf lamina with the upper part 0.5–6 × 0.5–3 cm, ovate to ovate-deltate, acute at the apex, tapering or abruptly contracted and decurrent below for up to 1.5 cm forming a false petiole with auricles at the base, glabrous or with scattered hairs, gland-dotted beneath.
Morphology Leaves Ocrea
Ocrea brown, membranous, 6–8 mm long, entire at the apex.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers in small, pedunculate heads 6–9 mm in diameter; heads solitary or paired, c. 12-flowered, subtended by a sessile involucral leaf; peduncles up to 5 cm long, with deflexing glandular hairs below the inflorescence; bracts hyaline, 3.5–5 × 1.5–2.5 mm, broadly lanceolate to ovate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Perianth
Perianth whitish, creamy-white or bluish-pink, c. 3 mm long, with 4 elliptic lobes as long as the tube.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens included in the perianth; filaments 0.1–1.2 mm long, filiform; anthers bluish-black, 0.2–0.3 mm in diameter.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Styles 3, c. 1 mm long, united to about the middle.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Nut dark brown, 2 × 2 mm, lenticular, rarely trigonous, minutely areolate.
[FZ]

Distribution
Biogeografic region: Andean. Elevation range: 1500–2400 m a.s.l. Naturalised in Colombia. Colombian departments: Antioquia, Huila.
Habit
Herb.
Ecology
Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: forest and woodland, shrubland, native grassland, artificial - terrestrial.
[UPFC]

Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/

Vernacular
amaranto, barbasquillo, barbasco, bledo, bogotana, catay,corazón herido, frijolillo, hierba de sapo, malavecina, orejas del diablo , picantilla, picantillo
[UNAL]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Adventicia en Colombia; Alt. 1500 - 2400 m.; Andes.
Morphology General Habit
Hierba
Conservation
No Evaluada
[CPLC]

Polygonaceae, R. A. Graham. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1958

Morphology General Habit
A rather slender, branched, somewhat straggling annual.
Morphology Stem
Stems basally decumbent and rooting at the nodes, pale green to greenish brown, glabrous or with scattered gland-tipped hairs usually more numerous below the ocreae.
Morphology Leaves Ocrea
Ocreae glabrous, brown, membranous, without a terminal fringe of setae, 6–8 (–10) mm. long.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves petiolate, ovate or ovate-deltoid, up to 5 × 3 cm., evenly but often abruptly narrowed to an acute apex, basally truncate or abruptly narrowed to the petiole and with basal auricles.
Morphology Leaves Petiole
Petioles winged, up to 1.5 cm. long and to 3.5 mm. wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence capitate, the capitula 6–9 mm. broad and terminating the branches singly or in pairs, each capitulum subtended by an involucral, sessile leaf.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Peduncles
Peduncles with deflexing gland-tipped hairs below the capitula, otherwise glabrous or largely so.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
Bracts glabrous, ovate-lanceolate, narrowed to an acute apex, 5 mm. long, with a broad, hyaline margin.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers bluish-white or white, about 12 in each capitulum.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Perianth
Perianth ± 3 mm. long, urceolate, with 4 tepals free above the middle, the outer pair folded and the inner pair flat.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens included; the anthers bluish-black, ± rounded; filaments white, filiform.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Styles 3, connate nearly to the apex.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Nut dark-brown, lenticular, minutely areolate, 2 × 2 mm.
Figures
Fig. 3/2, p. 15.
Habitat
By streams and rivers, in marshes, grasslands and at forest edges, also as a weed of cultivation; 1140–2700 m.
Distribution
throughout tropical Africa and tropical Asia, Madagascar, South Africa (? introduced) K3 K4 K5 T2 T6 T7 T8 U2 U4
[FTEA]

Polygonaceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:1. 1954

Morphology General Habit
Annual
Ecology
By streams in forest
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers white.
[FWTA]

Uses

Use Animal Food
Used as animal food.
Use Environmental
Environmental uses.
Use Food
Used for food.
Use Materials
Used as material.
Use Medicines
Medical uses.
Use Social
Social uses.
[UPFC]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0