Flowering plant. Photo: Don Wood, south coast, NSW

Flowering plant. Photo: Don Wood, ACT

Flowers and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, near Hoskinstown, NSW

Flowering plant. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, near Hoskinstown, NSW

Plant. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, Snowy River, NSW

Common Name

Creeping Knotweed, Trailing Knotweed

Family

Polygonaceae

Notes

Perennial forb, prostrate or sprawling. Leaves alternating along the stems, with a hairy membranous sheath at the base, 1-5.5cm long, 3-10mm wide, flat, somewhat hairy, occasionally slightly sticky hairy. Flowers white to green, with 5 'petals', in round to short cylindrical dense clusters on stalks arising from the bases of the leaves.

Description and photo (as Polygonum prostratum) in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 233

PlantNET description:   http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Persicaria~prostrata