Persicaria barbata - Bearded Knotweed

Bearded Knotweed is an erect annual herb, 30-60 cm tall, sometimes prostrate simple-branched, annual, herb. Stem is hairless, lineolate-grooved. Leaves are 1.5-15 x 0.25-3.0 cm, elliptic-lanceshaped to lanceshaped, long-pointed, hairless except margin, Stalkless or leaf-stalk 2-4 mm long. Ochrea are 1.0-3.5 cm long, tubular, brownish, bristly, cilia equalling or larger than the ochreae. Inflorescence is 5-10 cm long, many flowered, branched raceme with 1-6 spikes in each raceme, flower-cluster-stalk 0.5-3.0 cm long, hairless. Flowers are white, 1.0-2.0 mm across, stalk 0.75-1.5 mm long. Ochreolae is 1.5-3.5 mm long, tubular, ovate, compact, not intrerrupted, fringed with hairs, ciliae almost the same size as that of ochreolae. Tepals are 5, 1.5-2.5 x 0.75-1.25 cm, inverted-lanceshaped-obovate, blunt, biseriate, unequal, eglandular. Bearded Knotweed is found in Bhutan, NE India, SE Asia, Sri Lanka and Western Ghats, from sea level to 1300 m.