Editing Fallopia convolvulus

{{short description|Species of flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae}}
{{redirect|Black bindweed|another plant with the same common name|Dioscorea communis}}
{{About|the Eurasian/African plant sometimes known as ''wild buckwheat''|other plants which share the same common name|Wild buckwheat (disambiguation){{!}}Buckwheat (disambiguation)}}
{{speciesbox
 | image = Fallopia convolvulus1pl.jpg
 | genus = Fallopia
 | species = convolvulus
 | authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[Á.Löve]] 1970
 | synonyms_ref = <ref>[http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2807634 The Plant List, ''Fallopia convolvulus'' (L.) Á.Löve ]</ref>
 | synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true
|title=<small>Synonymy</small>
|''Polygonum convolvulus'' <small>L. 1753</small>
|''Bilderdykia convolvulus'' <small>(L.) Dumort</small>
|''Fagopyrum carinatum'' <small>Moench</small>
|''Fagopyrum convolvulus'' <small>(L.) H.Gross</small>
|''Helxine convolvulus'' <small>(L.) Raf.</small>
|''Reynoutria convolvulus'' <small>(L.) Shinners</small>
|''Tiniaria convolvulus'' <small>(L.) Webb & Moq.</small>
|''Fagopyrum volubile'' <small>Gilib.</small>
|''Polygonum convolvulaceum'' <small>Lam.</small>
|''Polygonum infestum'' <small>Salisb.</small>
}}}}

'''''Fallopia convolvulus''''', the '''black-bindweed''' or '''wild buckwheat''', is a fast-growing [[annual plant|annual]] [[flowering plant]] in the family [[Polygonaceae]] native throughout [[Europe]], [[Asia]] and northern [[Africa]].<ref name=europe>Flora of NW Europe: [http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/BIS/flora.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=2028 ''Fallopia convolvulus'']{{Dead link|date=August 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=china>Flora of China: [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=242100055 ''Fallopia convolvulus'']</ref><ref name=pakistan>Flora of Pakistan: [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=242100055 ''Fallopia convolvulus'']</ref><ref name=Blamey>Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C., 1989. ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. {{ISBN|0-340-40170-2}}.</ref><ref name="ars-grin.gov">{{GRIN | accessdate = 24 December 2017}}</ref>

[[Synonym (taxonomy)|Synonyms]] include ''Polygonum convolvulus'' L. ([[basionym]]), ''Bilderdykia convolvulus'' (L.) Dumort, ''Fagopyrum convolvulus'' (L.) H.Gross, ''Fagopyrum carinatum'' Moench, ''Helxine convolvulus'' (L.) Raf., ''Reynoutria convolvulus'' (L.) Shinners, and ''Tiniaria convolvulus'' (L.) Webb & Moq.<ref name=china/><ref name=pakistan/> Other old folk names include bear-bind, bind-corn, climbing bindweed, climbing buckwheat, corn-bind, corn bindweed, devil's tether, and wild buckwheat.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}}

==Description==
Black-bindweed is a [[herbaceous]] [[vine]] growing to {{convert|1|–|1.5|m|in|abbr=on}} long, with stems that twine [[clockwise]] round other plant stems. The alternate triangular [[leaf|leaves]] are 1.5–6&nbsp;cm long and 0.7–3&nbsp;cm broad with a 6–15 (–50) mm petiole; the basal lobes of the leaves are pointed at the petiole. The [[flower]]s are small, and greenish-pink to greenish white, clustered on short [[raceme]]s. These clusters give way to small triangular [[achene]]s, with one [[seed]] in each achene.<ref name=europe/><ref name=china/><ref name=pakistan/><ref name=arable>Phil Wilson & Miles King, ''Arable Plants – a field guide'': [http://www.fieldguide.co.uk/?PP=species_account&SPID=3&SHC=4&PSD=2 Black-bindweed]</ref> The flowers have 5 [[sepals]], the 3 outer ones are larger and show a keel. It has 5 stamens and the fruit grows to 4&nbsp;mm long.<ref>Parnell, J. and Curtis, T. 2012. ''Webb's An Irish Flora.'' Cork University Press. {{ISBN|978-185918-4783}}</ref>

While it superficially resemble bindweeds in the genus ''[[Convolvulus]]'' there are many notable differences; it has ocrea (stipule-sheath at nodes), which ''Convolvulus'' does not; and ''Convolvulus'' has conspicuous trumpet-shaped flowers while Black-bindweed has flowers that are unobtrusive and only about 4&nbsp;mm long.<ref name=Blamey/>

==Distribution and habitat==
''Fallopia convolvulus'' grows most commonly on disturbed or cultivated land, in northern Europe typically on warm, sunny, well-drained sandy or [[limestone]] soil types,<ref name=Blamey/><ref name=arable/> but in hotter, drier areas like Pakistan, on moist shady sites.<ref name=pakistan/> It ranges from sea level in the north of its range, up to 3600 m altitude in the south in the [[Himalaya]].<ref name=china/><ref name=pakistan/><ref name=Blamey/>

==Cultivation and uses==
The seeds are edible, and were used in the past as a food crop, with remains found in [[Bronze Age]] middens.<ref name=Blamey/> The seeds are too small and low-yielding to make a commercial crop, and it is now more widely considered a [[weed]], occurring in [[agriculture|crops]], waste areas and roadsides. It can be a damaging weed when it is growing in a [[garden]] or crop, as it can not only damage the plants around which it twines, but also clog the machinery used to harvest a given crop. It is also an [[invasive species]] in [[North America]].<ref name="ars-grin.gov"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1149295}}

[[Category:Fallopia|convolvulus]]
[[Category:Flora of Asia]]
[[Category:Flora of Africa]]
[[Category:Flora of Europe]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]