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Persicaria is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the knotweed family, Polygonaceae. Plants of the genus are known commonly as knotweeds<ref name=Stace>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp or smartweeds.<ref name=fna>Persicaria. Flora of North America.</ref> It has a cosmopolitan distribution, with species occurring nearly worldwide.<ref name=fna/><ref name=nsw>Persicaria. New South Wales Flora Online. National Herbarium, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney.</ref> The genus was segregated from Polygonum.<ref name=wil>Wilson, K. L. (1990). "Some widespread species of Persicaria (Polygonaceae) and their allies". Kew Bulletin 45(4) 621-36.</ref>

DescriptionEdit

The genus includes annual and perennial herbs with taproots or fibrous root systems, or with rhizomes or stolons. The stems are often erect but may be prostrate along the ground, and some species are prickly.<ref name=fna/> The stems are self-supporting or twining and climbing.<ref name=fb>Persicaria. FloraBase. Western Australian Herbarium.</ref> The leaves are alternately arranged, deciduous, and variously shaped. The brownish or reddish ochrea may be leathery to papery. The inflorescence may be a panicle or a spikelike or headlike arrangement of fascicles of flowers. The flower is white, greenish, reddish, pink or purple, with the tepals partially fused together along the bases. The fruit is an achene which can take a number of shapes, including a disc or a sphere.<ref name=fna/>

TaxonomyEdit

Within the family Polygonaceae, Persicaria is placed in the subfamily Polygonoideae, where the tribe Persicarieae consists of two sister genera, Bistorta and Koenigia, together with Persicaria.Template:Sfn

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SpeciesEdit

Template:As of, the following 132 species were accepted:<ref name="POWO_60433517-2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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CitationsEdit

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General and cited referencesEdit

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