Scientific name: Polygonum aviculare L.
Common name: Knotgrass
Description
Habit: Annual, with a strong tap-root.
Stems: Semi-erect or straggling, slender, branched and leafy, to 1 m long.
Leaves: Alternate, undivided, untoothed, oval-lanceolate, narrowed at the base; those on main stem larger, up to 4 cm; those on side branches smaller; stipules silvery, united to form a sheath surrounding stem or leaf stalk, not very conspicuous.
Flowers: Actinomorphic, almost stalkless, in small, axillary clusters; tepals 5, shortly fused at the base, with 5 lobes, green with pink or white edges, broad and overlapping, lobes 3 times as long as the tube; stamens 8; ovary superior, 1-celled, style 1, divided into 3.
Fruits: A small nut, 3-angled, 3 mm, not shiny; enclosed in the tepals.
Habitat: Roadsides, cultivated and waste ground, farmyards, sandy beaches.Distribution: Frequent.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No