Common Name: lady's thumb smartweedScientific Name: Polygonum persicaria L. syn. Persicaria maculosaFamily Name: Polygonaceae - Smartweed or Buckwheat FamilyIdentification NotesLife Cycleintroduced annual, reproducing by seed Stemssmooth, branching, swollen nodes, ocrea (papery or membranous sheath) at nodes, short stiff hairs on top margin of ocrea Leavesalternate, lanceolate to elliptic, frequently with purple blotch Flowersbright pink to purple sometimes white, petals absent; clusters form short terminal spike