| Classification |
| Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order Type: Eudicots-Caryophyllids
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Family Common Name: Knotweed Family
Genera: Polygonum |
Defining Morphology: Floral
Features: Inflorescences are determinate or indeterminate of clustered
axillary or solitary flowers, spike-like clusters, racemiform, paniculiform,
solitary involucrate or involucrate umbels. Flowers are often bisexual,
small and actinomorphic. Ovaries are superior with basal placentation.
Fruit and Seed Features: Dicotyledon. Fruit as an achene or nutlet. Vegetative
Features: Habit as herbs, shrubs, vines or trees. Stem often with swollen
nodes. Leaves simple and mostly alternate. If stipules present, they are
modified into a membranous sheathing tube (ochrea) that enwraps the stem
above the nodes.
Distribution: Cosmopolitan,
mostly north temperate regions.
Economic Use: As cultivated
garden ornamentals, as the source of dyes and food, strong fibers and as
a remedy for snakebite. A few species are used locally as medicines.
Number of Genera Globally:
43
Number of Species Globally: 1,100
