Flowers and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, ACT

Flowering stems. Photo: Don Wood, ACT

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

Flowering stems. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, ACT

Common Name

Wireweed

Family

Polygonaceae

Notes

Introduced annual or biennial forb, prostrate to sprawling, stems to 1m long. Leaves alternating along the stems, with a sheath at the base, 0.8-3cm long, 2-11mm wide, flat. Flowers small (less than 3mm across), with 5 ‘petals ‘, white or pink, sometimes red outside, 'petals' joined at the base, in groups of 1-4 at the bases of the leaves.

Short description and photo in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 230.  Treated as a native plant in this book.

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