''Persicaria capitata'', the pink-headed persicaria, pinkhead smartweed, pink knotweed, Japanese knotweed, or pink bubble persicaria, is an Asian species of plants in the genus ''

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.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'', ...

(US: buckwheat) family. It is native to Asia (China, South Asia, Indochina) and grown as an ornamental in other countries. It has become naturalized in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and a few scattered locations in the Americas.

Description

''Persicaria capitata'' is a

prostrate Prostrate may refer to:- *Prostration, a position of submission in religion etc. *Prone position, a face-down orientation of the body *Prostrate shrub A prostrate shrub is a woody plant, most of the branches of which lie upon or just above the ...

herb. The leaves are 1–6 cm long, 0.7–3 cm wide with pink to red bands or blotches and short scattered hairs. The

spikes The SPIKES protocol is a method used in clinical medicine to break bad news to patients and families. As receiving bad news can cause distress and anxiety, clinicians need to deliver the news carefully. Using the SPIKES method for introducing and ...

are 5–10 mm long and 5–7 mm in diameter.Flora of China, ''Polygonum capitatum'' Buchanan-Hamilton ex D. Don, 1825. 头花蓼 tou hua liao
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Distribution and habitat

''Persicaria capitata'' is a native of Asia. It has naturalised in parts of

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Between 2008 and 2013 it has been recorded as an invasive plant in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

from the Counties

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh (), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of alleged Laigin or ...

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

and Mayo.

Uses

''Persicaria capitata'' has been widely used in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in the treatment of various urologic disorders including

urinary calculi Kidney stone disease (known as nephrolithiasis, renal calculus disease, or urolithiasis) is a crystallopathy and occurs when there are too many minerals in the urine and not enough liquid or hydration. This imbalance causes tiny pieces of cry ...

and

urinary tract infections A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that affects a part of the urinary tract. Lower urinary tract infections may involve the bladder (cystitis) or urethra ( urethritis) while upper urinary tract infections affect the kidney (pye ...

.Liao SG, Zhang LJ, Sun F, Zhang JJ, Chen AY, Lan YY, Li YJ, Wang AM, He X, Xiong Y, Dong L, Chen XJ, Li YT, Zuo L, Wang YL, "Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects of extracts and fractions from ''Polygonum capitatum''." ''J Ethnopharmacol''. 2011 Feb 3; Authors:

References

External links

Jepson Herbarium, University of California

capitata Capitata is a suborder of Hydrozoa, a class of marine invertebrates belonging to the phylum Cnidaria. Characteristics Members of this suborder are characterised by the tentacles of the polyps terminating in knobs. In some species these are onl ...

Flora of Asia Plants described in 1825 {{Polygonaceae-stub

Description

Distribution and habitat

Uses

See also

References

External links