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Persicaria capitata
Polygonaceae FAMILY

Persicaria capitata

Persicaria capitata

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
4/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Perennial
Growth—

Persicaria capitata is not a very cold-hardy plant, being able to tolerate short periods with temperatures down to around -5 to -8°c when fully dormant[1]. Plants can often be found growing in very inhospitable places and poor soils such as cracks in the pavement, rocks etc[PFAF]. The plant usually spreads freely in cultivation and can be invasive[1].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Persicaria+capitata>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  3. [3]Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk — http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html ↩︎A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
  4. [4]Plants and People of Nepal — Manandhar. N. P. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 2002 · ISBN 0-88192-527-6 ↩︎Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses.
  5. [5]Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects of extracts and fractions from Polygonum capitatum — Shang-Gao Liao et al · Elsevier Ireland Ltd · 2011 · http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jethpharm · ISBN 0378-8741/$ ↩︎A research paper, it contains some information on the medicinal properties of Persicaria capitata
  6. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎