Scientific name: Polygonum oxyspermum C.A. Mey. & Bunge ex Ledeb.
Common name: Ray's Knotgrass
Description
Habit: Annual, with a strong tap-root.
Stems: Prostrate, woody at the base, to 1 m long.
Leaves: Alternate, widely spaced, pale bluish-green, thick, margins rolled downwards, undivided, untoothed, oval-lanceolate and narrowed at the base; stipules silvery, united to form a sheath surrounding stem or leaf stalk.
Flowers: Actinomorphic, almost stalkless, in a small, axillary clusters; tepals 5, pink or greenish white; stamens 8; ovary superior, 1-celled, style 1, divided into 3.
Fruits: A small nut, 3-angled, 5-6 mm, dark brown, shiny; protruding from the tepals for about a third of its length.
Habitat: Beaches of sand or fine shingle.Distribution: Local and rather rare.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No