The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name is based on the genus Polygonum, and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1789 in his book, Genera Plantarum.[2] The name may refer to the many swollen nodes the stems of some species have, being derived from Greek [poly meaning 'many' and gony meaning 'knee' or 'joint']. Alternatively, it may have a different origin, meaning 'many seeds'.[3]
The Polygonaceae comprise about 1200 species[4] distributed into about 48 genera.[5] The largest genera are Eriogonum (240 species), Rumex (200 species), Coccoloba (120 species), Persicaria (100 species) and Calligonum (80 species).[6][7] The family is present worldwide, but is most diverse in the North Temperate Zone.
Several species are cultivated as ornamentals.[8] A few species of Triplaris provide lumber.[4] The fruit of the sea grape (Coccoloba uvifera) is eaten, and in Florida, jelly is made from it and sold commercially.[9] The seeds of two species of Fagopyrum, known as buckwheat, are eaten in the form of groats or used to make flour. The petioles of rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum and hybrids) are a food item. The leaves of the common sorrel (Rumex acetosa) are eaten in salads or as a leaf vegetable.[10]
Polygonaceae contain some of the most prolific weeds, including species of Persicaria, Rumex and Polygonum, as well as Japanese knotweed.[4]
^Cite error: The named reference apgiii was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Antoine Laurent de Jussieu. 1789. Genera plantarum: secundum ordines naturales disposita, juxta methodum in Horto regio parisiensi exaratam. page 82. Herrisant and Barrois: Paris, France. (see External links below)
^Costea, Mihai; Tardif, François J. & Hinds, Harold R. "Polygonum". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America (online). eFloras.org. Archived from the original on 2021-05-06. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
^ abcDavid J. Mabberley. 2008. Mabberley's Plant-Book third edition (2008). Cambridge University Press: UK. ISBN 978-0-521-82071-4
^Christenhusz, M. J. M.; Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3). Magnolia Press: 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1. Archived from the original on 2016-07-29. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
^Craig C. Freeman and James L. Reveal. 2005. "Polygonaceae" pages 216-601. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (editors). Flora of North America vol. 5. Oxford University Press: New York, NY, USA. ISBN 978-0-19-522211-1 (see External links below)
^John Brandbyge. 1993. "Polygonaceae". pages 531-544. In: Klaus Kubitzki (editor); Jens G. Rohwer, and Volker Bittrich (volume editors). The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants volume II. Springer-Verlag: Berlin; Heidelberg, Germany ISBN 978-3-540-55509-4 (Berlin) ISBN 978-0-387-55509-6 (New York)
^Anthony Huxley, Mark Griffiths, and Margot Levy (1992). The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. The Macmillan Press,Limited: London. The Stockton Press: New York. ISBN 978-0-333-47494-5 (set).
^George W. Staples and Derral R. Herbst "A Tropical Garden Flora" Bishop Museum Press: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. (2005)
^Vernon H. Heywood, Richard K. Brummitt, Ole Seberg, and Alastair Culham. Flowering Plant Families of the World. Firefly Books: Ontario, Canada. (2007). ISBN 978-1-55407-206-4.
The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name...
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curled dock or yellow dock, is a perennial flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to Europe and Western Asia. The plant produces an inflorescence...
sorrel or garden sorrel, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock ('dock'...
esculentum) or common buckwheat is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. Buckwheat originated...
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Persicaria is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the knotweed family, Polygonaceae. Plants of the genus are known commonly as knotweeds: 436 or smartweeds...
Reynoutria is a genus of flowering plants in the Polygonaceae, also known as the knotweed or buckwheat family. The genus is native to eastern China, Eastern...
(petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of Rheum in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The plant is a herbaceous perennial...
Polygonum aubertii) is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae. "The Plant List: Fallopia aubertii (L.Henry) Holub". Royal Botanic Gardens...
Knotweed is a common name for plants in several genera in the family Polygonaceae. Knotweed may refer to: Fallopia Persicaria Polygonum Reynoutria japonica...
pale dock, is a widespread species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to southern Ontario, the United States east of the Rockies (except...
family Polygonaceae. Common names include knotweed and knotgrass (though the common names may refer more broadly to plants from Polygonaceae). In the...
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Polygonoideae is a subfamily of plants in the family Polygonaceae. It includes a number of plants that can be highly invasive, such as Japanese knotweed...
species of herbaceous perennial plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Common names include Japanese knotweed and Asian knotweed. It is native...
rhubarb, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant belonging to the family Polygonaceae. In spring it is often consumed as a leaf vegetable and as a filling...
Roger (1989). "Present Distribution and Ecology of Rheum rhaponticum (Polygonaceae)". Willdenowia. 19 (1): 91–98. JSTOR 3996925. Tanhuanpää, Pirjo; Suojala-Ahlfors...
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Rheum rhabarbarum is a species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to a region stretching from southern Siberia to north and central...
given to a vine by the appearance of its fruit) is a tree in the family Polygonaceae. It is known by the common name papaturro. This is a small to medium...
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