Water Pepper

(Polygonum hydropiper L.)

Polygonaceae (Smartweed Family)

▲ ▼ mature plants

▲ ▼ flowering mature plants

▲ ▼ inflorescences showing spacing between flowers

▲ stem, leaves and ochrea

      water pepper:  (not in Weeds of the Great Plains, nor Weeds of the Northeast)

o   summer annual, similar to Pennsylvania smartweed in appearance, but leaves are narrower and sometimes longer, and inflorescence has individual florets more spaced out on the main rachis

o   not usually a weed problem—a native plant of streambanks and wetland areas