''Bistorta'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of flowering plants in the family

Polygonaceae The Polygonaceae are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants known Common name, informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The Botanical name, name is Basionym, based on the genus ''Polygonum'', ...

. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere, as far south as Mexico in North America and Thailand in Asia.

Description

Species of ''Bistorta'' are

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

s. Their roots are fibrous, forming

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

s. They have erect, unbranched stems. Their leaves are usually longer than wide, mostly basal, but with some arranged alternately on the stems. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s are spikelike. The individual flowers have five white to purple-pink (rarely red)

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s. The flowers are bisexual, although the 5–8 stamens are sometimes poorly developed. There are three styles. The fruits are in the form of

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple fruit, simple dry fruits, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and Dehi ...

s, that are brown or dark brown, unwinged, and three-angled. The monoploid number of chromosomes, ''x'', is 11 or 12.

Taxonomy

In 1753,

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

divided up his genus ''

Polygonum ''Polygonum'' is a genus of about 130 species of flowering plants in the buckwheat and knotweed family Polygonaceae. Common names include knotweed and knotgrass (though the common names may refer more broadly to plants from Polygonaceae). In the ...

'' into unranked groups, one of which was ''Bistorta''. In 1754,

Giovanni Antonio Scopoli Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Johannes Antonius Scopolius) (3 June 1723 – 8 May 1788) was an Italians, Italian physician and natural history, naturalist. His biographer Otto Guglia named him the "first ...

elevated ''Bistorta'' to a genus. ''Bistorta'' is placed in the subfamily

Polygonoideae 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, '' Reynoutria japonica'', and its hybrid with '' R. sachalinensis'', ''R.'' × ''bohemica' ...

, tribe Persicarieae, along with the genera ''

Koenigia :Koenigia'' as described by Philibert Commerçon is a synonym of ''Dombeya. ''Koenigia'' is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus ''Aconogonon'' has been merged into ''Koenigia''. Description Species of ''Koenigia'' are annual ...

'' and ''

Persicaria ''Persicaria'' is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the knotweed family, Polygonaceae. Plants of the genus are known commonly as knotweeds or smartweeds.Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepted the following 42 species. *''

Bistorta abukumensis ''Bistorta abukumensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae The Polygonaceae are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants known Common name, informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the ...

'' Yonek., Iketsu & H.Ohashi *''

Bistorta affinis ''Bistorta affinis'' (synonyms ''Polygonum affine'', ''Persicaria affinis''), the Himalayan bistort, fleece flower, or knotweed, is a species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to the Himalayas (Tibet, Nepal, northern India, Pa ...

'' (D.Don) Greene *''

Bistorta albiflora ''Bistorta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate clade by molecular phylogenetic analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native throughout much of the Northern ...

'' Miyam. & H.Ohba *''

Bistorta alopecuroides ''Bistorta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate clade by molecular phylogenetic analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native throughout much of the Northern ...

'' (Turcz. ex Besser) Kom. *''

Bistorta amplexicaulis ''Bistorta amplexicaulis'' (synonym ''Persicaria amplexicaulis''), the red bistort or mountain fleece, is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae, native to China, the Himalayas, and Pakistan. It is a damp-loving herbace ...

'' (D.Don) Greene *''

Bistorta attenuata ''Bistorta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate clade by molecular phylogenetic analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native throughout much of the Northern ...

'' Kom. *''

Bistorta attenuatifolia ''Bistorta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate clade by molecular phylogenetic analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native throughout much of the Northern ...

'' Miyam. & H.Ohba *''

Bistorta bistortoides ''Bistorta bistortoides'' (American bistort, western bistort, smokeweed, mountain meadow knotweed, mountain buckwheat or mountain meadow buckwheat) is a perennial herb in the buckwheat and knotweed family Polygonaceae. Description ''Bistorta bi ...

'' (Pursh) Small *''

Bistorta burmanica ''Bistorta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate clade by molecular phylogenetic analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native throughout much of the Northern ...

'' Yonek. & H.Ohashi *''

Bistorta coriacea ''Bistorta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate clade by Molecular phylogenetics, molecular phylogenetic analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native through ...

'' (Sam.) Yonek. & H.Ohashi *'' Bistorta diopetes'' H.Ohba & S.Akiyama *'' Bistorta elliptica'' (Willd. ex Spreng.) V.V.Petrovsky, D.F.Murray & Elven *'' Bistorta emodi'' (Meisn.) H.Hara *'' Bistorta griersonii'' Yonek. & H.Ohashi *'' Bistorta griffithii'' (Hook.f.) Grierson *'' Bistorta hayachinensis'' (Makino) H.Gross *'' Bistorta honanensis'' (H.W.Kung) Yonek. & H.Ohashi *'' Bistorta incana'' (Nakai) Nakai *'' Bistorta jaljalensis'' H.Ohba & S.Akiyama *'' Bistorta krascheninnikovii'' N.A.Ivanova *'' Bistorta longispicata'' Yonek. & H.Ohashi *'' Bistorta ludlowii'' Yonek. & H.Ohashi *'' Bistorta macrophylla'' (D.Don) Soják *'' Bistorta manshuriensis'' (Petrov ex Kom.) Kom. *'' Bistorta milletii'' H.Lév. *'' Bistorta milletioides'' H.Ohba & S.Akiyama *'' Bistorta ochotensis'' Kom. *''

Bistorta officinalis ''Bistorta officinalis'' (synonym ''Persicaria bistorta''), known as bistort, common bistort, European bistort, or meadow bistort, is a species of flowering plant in the dock family Polygonaceae native to Europe and northern and western Asia. Ot ...

'' Delarbre *'' Bistorta paleacea'' (Wall. ex Hook.f.) Yonek. & H.Ohashi *'' Bistorta perpusilla'' (Hook.f.) Greene *'' Bistorta plumosa'' (Small) Greene *'' Bistorta purpureonervosa'' (A.J.Li) Yonek. & H.Ohashi * (Brügger) Dostál *'' Bistorta rubra'' Yonek. & H.Ohashi *'' Bistorta sherei'' H.Ohba & S.Akiyama *'' Bistorta sinomontana'' (Sam.) Miyam. *'' Bistorta subscaposa'' (Diels) Petrov *''

Bistorta suffulta ''Bistorta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. about 40 species are accepted. It has been supported as a separate clade by molecular phylogenetic analysis. ''Bistorta'' species are native throughout much of the Northern ...

'' (Maxim.) Greene ex H.Gross *'' Bistorta tenuicaulis'' (Bisset & S.Moore) Nakai *'' Bistorta tenuifolia'' (H.W.Kung) Miyam. & H.Ohba *'' Bistorta tubistipulis'' Miyam. & H.Ohba *'' Bistorta vacciniifolia'' (Wall. ex Meisn.) Greene *''

Bistorta vivipara ''Bistorta vivipara'' (synonym ''Persicaria vivipara'') is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae, commonly known as alpine bistort. Scientific synonyms include ''Bistorta vivipara'' and ''Polygon ...

'' (L.) Delarbre Bistorta abukumensis 5.JPG, ''

'' Beautiful Deosi Flowers.jpg, ''

'' Bistorta amplexicaulis Polygonium amplexicaule HabitusInflorescences BotGardBln0906a.jpg, ''

'' Bistorta bistortoides, Western bistort, Yosemite.jpg, ''

'' Bistorta macrophylla Tawang.jpg, '' Bistorta macrophylla'' Bistorta vivipara T57.jpg, ''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q938953 Polygonaceae genera