''Fallopia'' is a genus of about 12 species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s in the

buckwheat family 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 ...

, often included in a wider treatment of the related genus ''

Polygonum ''Polygonum'' is a genus of about 130 species of flowering plant 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 t ...

'' in the past, and previously including '' Reynoutria''. The genus is native to temperate and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere, but species have been introduced elsewhere. The genus includes species forming

vine A vine ( Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners thems ...

s and shrubs.

Description

Species of ''Fallopia'' grow as

liana A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a ...

s, shrubs or subshrubs. Unlike species of the related genus ''

Duma A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were f ...

'', they do not have thorn-like tips to their branches. Nectaries are present outside the flowers (extrafloral). Plants usually have

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, wh ...

flowers. More rarely they may be

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproducti ...

, each plant only having flowers with either functional

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s or a functional

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) '' pis ...

. The flowers are arranged in a

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the sh ...

. The

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 of the flowers are dry and paper-like when mature. The flowers have short styles with partially fused stigmas forming a "head". The fruits are

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not op ...

s with three sharp edges.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Fallopia'' was first described by

Michel Adanson Michel Adanson (7 April 17273 August 1806) was an 18th-century French botanist and naturalist who traveled to Senegal to study flora and fauna. He proposed a "natural system" of taxonomy distinct from the binomial system forwarded by Linnaeus. ...

in 1763. He distinguished it from ''

'' and other genera he placed in his family "Persicariae". Adanson did not explain the origin of the name. It is said to be named after the Italian botanist Gabriele Falloppio, known as Fallopius in Latin. He was the superintendent of the

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of t ...

and an acclaimed anatomist, being considered a founder of modern

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

. The status of the genus has varied considerably over time, and its taxonomic history is complicated. For example,

Meissner Meissner, Meißner or Meisner may refer to: Geography Meissner is the name of the following geographic features: * the Meißner (range), an important mountain range in Hesse, Germany * Hoher Meißner, the highest peak of the Meißner range * Mei� ...

in 1856 placed both Adanson's ''Fallopia'' and the genus ''Reynoutria'' in a broadly defined ''Polygonum'', as did Bentham and Hooker in 1880. When the genus ''Fallopia'' was recognized, as was generally the case from the 1970s onwards, ''Reynoutria'' was sometimes included and sometimes not. Thus the ''Flora of North America'' in 2005 included ''Reynoutria'' in ''Fallopia'', whereas the ''Flora of China'' in 2003 separated the two genera. Subsequent

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 ...

studies have confirmed the separation of ''Fallopia'' from other related genera.

Classification and phylogeny

''Fallopia'' is placed in the tribe Polygoneae of 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'' ...

. Within the tribe, it is most closely related to the genera '' Reynoutria'' and '' Muehlenbeckia'', forming the so-called "RMF clade".

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants ...

accepted 12 species. *'' Fallopia aubertii'' (L.Henry) Holub – silver lace vine; China *'' Fallopia baldschuanica'' (Regel) Holub (

syn. The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...

''Polygonum baldschuanicum'') – Russian vine, mile-a-minute vine, fleece vine, fleece flower;

Eastern Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea a ...

*'' Fallopia convolvulus'' (L.) Á.Löve (syns ''Polygonum convolvulus'', ''Bilderdykia convolvulus'') – black-bindweed;

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, Asia, northern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. *''

Fallopia cristata ''Fallopia'' is a genus of about 12 species of flowering plants in the buckwheat family, often included in a wider treatment of the related genus ''Polygonum'' in the past, and previously including '' Reynoutria''. The genus is native to temperat ...

'' (Engelm. ex A.Gray) Holub – eastern and central United States *''

Fallopia cynanchoides ''Fallopia'' is a genus of about 12 species of flowering plants in the buckwheat family, often included in a wider treatment of the related genus ''Polygonum'' in the past, and previously including ''Reynoutria''. The genus is native to temperat ...

'' (Hemsl.) Haraldson (syn. ''Polygonum cynanchoides'') – western China *''

Fallopia dentatoalata ''Fallopia'' is a genus of about 12 species of flowering plants in the buckwheat family, often included in a wider treatment of the related genus ''Polygonum'' in the past, and previously including ''Reynoutria''. The genus is native to temperat ...

'' (F.Schmidt) Holub (syn. ''Polygonum dentatoalatum'') – Eastern Asia *'' Fallopia dumetorum'' (L.) Holub (syns ''Polygonum dumetorum'', ''Bilderdykia dumetorum'') – copse bindweed, small-flower knotweed; Europe, Asia, northern Africa *''

Fallopia filipes ''Fallopia'' is a genus of about 12 species of flowering plants in the buckwheat family, often included in a wider treatment of the related genus ''Polygonum'' in the past, and previously including ''Reynoutria''. The genus is native to temperat ...

'' (H.Hara) Holub – Nepal *''

Fallopia koreana ''Fallopia'' is a genus of about 12 species of flowering plants in the buckwheat family, often included in a wider treatment of the related genus ''Polygonum'' in the past, and previously including ''Reynoutria''. The genus is native to temperat ...

'' B.U.Oh & J.G.Kim – Korean knotweed; Korea *''

Fallopia pterocarpa ''Fallopia'' is a genus of about 12 species of flowering plants in the Polygonaceae, buckwheat family, often included in a wider treatment of the related genus ''Polygonum'' in the past, and previously including ''Reynoutria''. The genus is nativ ...

'' (Meisn.) Holub (syn. ''Polygonum pterocarpum'') – Southern Asia *'' Fallopia scandens'' (L.) Holub (syns ''Polygonum scandens'', ''Reynoutria scandens'') – climbing false buckwheat; North America *''

Fallopia schischkinii ''Fallopia'' is a genus of about 12 species of flowering plants in the buckwheat family, often included in a wider treatment of the related genus ''Polygonum'' in the past, and previously including ''Reynoutria''. The genus is native to temperat ...

'' Tzvelev – Russian Far East

Former species

Many species at one time placed in ''Fallopia'' have been moved to other genera in the subfamily

. Some synonyms are listed below. *''Fallopia'' × ''bohemica'' → ''Reynoutria'' × ''bohemica'', Bohemian knotweed. *''Fallopia ciliinodis'' (Michx.) Holub – fringed black bindweed → ''

Polygonum ciliinode ''Polygonum ciliinode'' (Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Fallopia ciliinodis'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to central and eastern Canada, and the north-central and eastern United States. The specific epithet ...

'' *''Fallopia denticulata'' (C.C.Huang) Holub → ''

Pteroxygonum denticulatum ''Pteroxygonum'' is a plant genus in the family Polygonaceae. , two species are recognized. Their native range is from Tibet to southeast China. Description Species of ''Pteroxygonum'' are twining vines growing from a large woody globe-shaped tub ...

'' *''Fallopia japonica'' Houtt. – Japanese knotweed → ''

Reynoutria japonica ''Reynoutria japonica'', synonyms ''Fallopia japonica'' and ''Polygonum cuspidatum'', is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Common names include Japanese knotweed and Asian knotweed. It is ...

'' *''Fallopia sachalinensis'' – giant knotweed → '' Reynoutria sachalinensis''

Hybrids

Crosses between Japanese knotweed and giant knotweed have occurred where the two species grow in close proximity. The hybrid, ×''Reyllopia conollyana'' (''

'' × '' Fallopia baldschuanica'') is called railway-yard knotweed.

Distribution

''Fallopia'' species are native to much of the Northern Hemisphere, including most of

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...

and central and eastern North America. They have been widely introduced elsewhere including eastern and southern Africa, eastern North America, including

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

, and parts of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

Ecology

''Fallopia'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

e of some Lepidoptera species including ''

Coleophora therinella ''Coleophora therinella'' is a moth of the family Coleophoridae found in Asia and Europe. Description The wingspan is 13–16 mm. ''Coleophora'' species have narrow blunt to pointed forewings and a weakly defined tornus. The hindwings ar ...

'' (recorded on ''F. convolvulus'').

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q927544 Polygonaceae genera