Polygonum aviculare explained

Polygonum aviculare or common knotgrass is a plant related to buckwheat and dock. It is also called prostrate knotweed, birdweed, pigweed and lowgrass. It is an annual found in fields and wasteland, with white flowers from June to October. It is widespread across many countries in temperate regions, apparently native to Eurasia, naturalized in temperate parts of the Southern Hemisphere.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Description

Common knotgrass is an annual herb with a semi-erect stem that may grow from 10to high. The leaves are hairless and short-stalked. They are longish-elliptical with short stalks and rounded bases; the upper ones are few and are linear and stalkless. The stipules are fused into a stem-enclosing, translucent sheath known as an ochrea that is membranous and silvery. The flowers are regular, green with white or pink margins. Each has five perianth segments, overlapping at the base, five to eight stamens and three fused carpels. The fruit is a dark brown, three-edged nut. The seeds need light to germinate which is why this plant appears in disturbed soil in locations where its seeds may have lain dormant for years. It is a common carrier of the parasitic pathogen powdery mildew,[7] which can give the leaves a whitish appearance.[2] [8]

Subspecies

Polygonum aviculare has a wide distribution as an arable weed and plant of fields, shingle, sand, roadsides, yards and waste places. There is much morphological variation among different populations and several different sub-species are recognized:[1] [2] [8]

Distribution

Widespread and common in Great Britain, Ireland,[9] [10] and Scandinavia.[11]

Habitat

It is common on roadsides and arable ground in the British Isles.[10]

Chemistry

Polygonum aviculare contains the flavonols avicularin, myricitrin and juglanin.[12] The flavanoids astragalin and betmidin, and the lignan aviculin have also been found.[13] The diterpene alkaloid panicudine is another known component.[14]

Fossil record

One fossil fruit of Polygonum aviculare has been extracted from borehole samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland.[15]

Cuisine

It formed a traditional ingredient in porridge consumed by Germanic peoples of western Europe, and has been found in numerous autopsies of peat bodies, including the Tollund Man.

In Vietnam, where it is called rau đắng, it is widely used to prepare soup and hot pot, particularly in the southern region.

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200006713 Flora of China, Polygonum aviculare Linnaeus, 1753. 萹蓄 bian xu
  2. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200006713 Flora of North America, Polygonum aviculare Linnaeus, 1753. Doorweed, knotgrass, renouée des oiseaux
  3. http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:apni.taxon:388401 Atlas of Living Australia, Polygonum aviculare L., Wireweed
  4. http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=polygonum+aviculare Altervista Flora Italiana, Polygonum aviculare L.
  5. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/677#page/812/mode/1up Lindau, G. 1894. Beiträge zur argentinischen Flora. Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie 19(4, Beibl. 48): 8–23
  6. Gibbs Russell, G. E., W. G. M. Welman, E. Retief, K. L. Immelman, G. Germishuizen, B. J. Pienaar, M. Van Wyk & A. Nicholas. 1987. List of species of southern African plants. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa 2(1–2): 1–152(pt. 1), 1–270(pt. 2).
  7. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338187775 Parasitic activity of powdery mildew (pathogen strain hmlac226) on prostrate knotweed (polygonum aviculare l.) at various locations of Shenyang, northeast China, Iqbal, M. F., Fend, Y. L., Liu, M. C., Lu, X. R., Nasir, M., Sikandar, A., 2019
  8. Web site: Knotgrass: Polygonum aviculare . NatureGate . 2013-12-30.
  9. Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg, E.F. 1968. Excursion Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge Press.
  10. Parnell, J. and Curtis, T. 2012. Webb's An Irish Flora. Cork University Press.
  11. Web site: Knotgrass. Planteværn Online. Aarhus University. 1 February 2016.
  12. 10.1365/s10337-009-1088-x . LC Method for Analysis of Three Flavonols in Rat Plasma and Urine after Oral Administration of Polygonum aviculare Extract . 2009 . Xu . Fuquan . Guan . Huashi . Li . Guoqiang . Liu . Hongbing . Chromatographia . 69 . 11–12 . 1251–1258 . 93888073 .
  13. 10.1021/np50107a003 . A Novel Lignan and Flavonoids from Polygonum aviculare . 1994 . Kim . Hyoung Ja . Woo . Eun-Rhan . Park . Hokoon . Journal of Natural Products . 57 . 5 . 581–586 .
  14. Antimicrobial activity and phytochemical analyses of Polygonum aviculare L. (Polygonaceae), naturally growing in Egypt. Salama . Hediat M.H. . Marraiki . Najat . Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences. 17. 1. January 2010. 57–63. 10.1016/j.sjbs.2009.12.009. 23961059. 3730555.
  15. Łańcucka-Środoniowa M.: Macroscopic plant remains from the freshwater Miocene of the Nowy Sącz Basin (West Carpathians, Poland) [Szczątki makroskopowe roślin z miocenu słodkowodnego Kotliny Sądeckiej (Karpaty Zachodnie, Polska)]. Acta Palaeobotanica 1979 20 (1): 3-117.

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