''Bistorta vivipara'' (

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Persicaria vivipara'') is a

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

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the knotweed and buckwheat 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'', ...

, commonly known as alpine bistort. Scientific synonyms include ''Bistorta vivipara'' and ''Polygonum viviparum''. It is common all over the high Arctic through Europe, North America, incl. Greenland, and temperate and tropical Asia. Its range stretches further south in high mountainous areas such as the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains ...

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

and the

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or Qingzang Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central Asia, Central, South Asia, South, and East Asia. Geographically, it is located to the north of H ...

Taxonomy

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 ...

work has demonstrated that the genus ''

Bistorta ''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 ...

'' represents a distinct lineage within the family Polygonaceae. The genus ''Bistorta'' contains at least 42 accepted species.

Description

Alpine bistort is a perennial herb that grows to tall. It has a thick

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

rootstock and an erect, unbranched, hairless stem. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are hairless on the upper surfaces, but hairy and greyish-green below. The basal ones are longish-elliptical with long stalks and rounded bases; the upper ones are few and are linear and stalkless. The tiny

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are white or pink in the upper part of the spike with five perianth segments, eight stamens with purple anthers and three fused carpels. The lower ones are replaced by bulbils. Flowers rarely produce viable seeds and reproduction is normally by the bulbils, which are small bulb-like structures that develop in the axils of the leaves and may develop into new plants. Very often, a small leaf develops when the bulbil is still attached to the mother plant. The bulbils are rich in starch and are a preferred food for

rock ptarmigan The rock ptarmigan (''Lagopus muta'') is a medium-sized game bird in the grouse family. It is known simply as the ptarmigan in Europe. It is the official bird for the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where it is known as the ''aqiggiq'' (ᐊᕿ� ...

s (''Lagopus mutus'') and

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

; they are also occasionally used by Arctic peoples. Alpine bistort flowers in June and July.

Habitat

Alpine bistort grows in many different plant communities, very often in abundance. Typical habitats include moist short

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

, yards, the edges of tracks, and nutrient-rich fens. As with many other alpine plants, Alpine bistort is slow-growing and produces embryonic buds one year that grow and open a few years after their formation ( flower preformation), with an individual leaf or

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 ...

taking three to four years to reach maturity from the time the buds are formed.

Mycorrhiza

Alpine bistort has been shown to form an

ectomycorrhiza An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobio ...

l root symbiosis with fungi.

Uses

The bulbils can be stripped from the lower flower stalks and eaten raw. The young roots are edible raw, while older ones must be cooked. The young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. The roots are eaten in Russia, especially by the Samoyed peoples.

In place names

The Kokolik River in Alaska is named after ''Qaqalik'', the Iñupiaq name for alpine bistort.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q768222, from2=Q13396948, from3=Q21877025 vivipara Alpine flora Edible plants Flora of Central Asia Flora of Middle Europe Flora of Eastern Asia Flora of Eastern Canada Flora of Eastern Europe Flora of Indo-China Flora of Northern Europe Flora of Siberia Flora of Southeastern Europe Flora of Southwestern Europe Flora of Subarctic America Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Russian Far East Flora of the South-Central United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of Western Canada Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora without expected TNC conservation status Flora of Greenland