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Pink Headed Knotweed

Persicaria capitata

Also called Pinkhead Smartweed, Pink Head Knotweed, Japanese Knotweed, Knotweed, Pink Headed Persicaria, Pink Head Persicaria, Pink Knotweed

Pink Headed Knotweed
Photo: JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/), CC BY-SA 3.0

Persicaria capitata is a low, creeping herb from Asia, grown for its pink-headed flower clusters and often grown as a ground cover. It is a vigorous spreader that has become invasive in some regions, so keep it contained.

Family
Polygonaceae (Buckwheat family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep soil evenly moist during growth and let the top layer dry slightly between waterings.
Soil
Average, well-drained garden soil or loam.
Temperature
15–30 °C; tolerates light frost but protect below about 0 °C.
How easy
Easy
Native range
Indian Subcontinent to S. China and Indo-China
Climate
temperate

About

Persicaria capitata, the pink-headed persicaria, pinkhead smartweed, pink knotweed, Japanese knotweed, or pink bubble persicaria, is an Asian species of plants in the genus Persicaria within the Polygonaceae (US: buckwheat) family. It is native to Asia (China, South Asia, Indochina) and grown as an ornamental in other countries. It has become naturalized in Australia, South Africa and a few scattered locations in the Americas.

Where it grows

Persicaria capitata is a native of Asia. It has naturalised in parts of Australia and North America. Between 2008 and 2013 it has been recorded as an invasive plant in Ireland from the Counties Fermanagh, Kilkenny, Wexford and Mayo.

Uses

Persicaria capitata has been widely used in China in the treatment of various urologic disorders including urinary calculi and urinary tract infections.

Other Persicaria plants

Amphibious Bistort · Chinese Knotweed · Water pepper · Curlytop knotweed · Redshank · Persicaria microcephala · Small water-pepper · Vietnamese Coriander · Pinkweed · Asiatic Tearthumb · Dotted Smartweed · Persicaria tinctoria

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Persicaria capitata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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