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Tearthumb

Persicaria sagittata

Also called Arrowleaf Tearthumb, American Tearthumb, Arrowvine, Arrow Leaved Knotweed, Arrow Leaved Smartweed, Arrow Leaved Tearthumb, Arrow Vine

Tearthumb
Photo: User:SB_Johnny, CC BY-SA 3.0

Tearthumb is a prickly annual herb of moist places such as lake shores and stream banks, with arrowhead-shaped leaves and small white to pink flower clusters. It is a wild plant rather than a commonly grown garden or houseplant, so care is mostly about moist soil and full to partial sun.

Family
Polygonaceae (Buckwheat family)
Grows as
Annual
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep the soil consistently moist, as it grows naturally along wet banks and shores.
Soil
Moist, fertile soil, such as a rich loam or a damp garden bed.
Temperature
Hardy in temperate climates; tolerates cold winters as a seasonal annual, but it is not frost tolerant once growing.
How easy
Easy
Native range
Siberia to Himalaya and Temp. E. Asia, C. & E. Canada to C. & E. U.S.A., Hispani
Climate
temperate

About

Persicaria sagittata, common names American tearthumb, arrowleaf tearthumb, or arrowvine, is a plant species widespread in the eastern half of North America as well as in eastern Asia. It has been found in every state and province from Texas to Manitoba to Newfoundland to Florida, plus Colorado and Oregon. It also grows in China, the Russian Far East, Siberia, Korea, Japan, northern India and Mongolia. It grows in moist areas along lake shores, stream banks, etc.

Persicaria sagittata is an annual herb up to 200 cm (80 inches) tall, with prickles along the stem. Leaves are up to 10 cm (4 inches) long, heart-shaped or arrowhead-shaped (unusual for the genus). Flowers are white to pink, borne in spherical to elongated clusters up to 15 mm (0.6 inches) long.

Other Persicaria plants

Amphibious Bistort · Halberdleaf tearthumb · Smart Weed · Bearded Knotweed · Two-horned smartweed · Prickly Smartweed · Pink Headed Knotweed · Persicaria cespitosa · Chinese Knotweed · Slender Knotweed · Persicaria dichotoma · Tall Knotweed

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Persicaria sagittata 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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