Persicaria capitata
Pink Bobbles, Pink Knotweed, Pink Smartweed
Polygonaceae
May to September
It is scattered throughout the country
For a map see the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland –
It is a neophyte introduced from Asia. It is grown in
hanging baskets and on rockeries. It has escaped
from gardens and become naturalised. In the wild
it grows on walls and pavement cracks.
In Guernsey, in July when these pictures were taken
many walls had Pink-headed Persicaria on them
rather like Ivy-leaved Toadflax on mainland UK.
In some countries it is classed as an invasive alien.
Pink-headed Persicaria is a perennial, prostrate,
sprawling herb growing up to 50cm.
Flower heads are up to 1cm, spherical with large
numbers of pink flowers.
Flowers are small and comprise 5 tepals, 8 white
stamens and a white style with 2 capitate stigmas.
Fruits (not shown) are akines.
The leaves are up to 6cm, ovate to elliptical with an
acute tip and a cuneate base. They are dark green
with a dark chevron-shaped mark. The leaves are
glandular round the edges and have short white
hairs on the blade.
They turn reddish through the season and the dark
marks become less less visible.
The stems are woody and dark red.
Persicaria capitata has been widely used in China
in the treatment of various urologic disorders such
as urinary tract infections
In a recent paper in the journal Metabolomics, the
authors suggest that as an herbal medicine it can cure
urinary tract infection through modulation of the immune
system. 'Metabolomics reveals immunomodulation as
a possible mechanism for the antibiotic effect of
Persicaria capitata'.Pei Han et al, (2017) Metabolomics
Volume 14 Issue 7.
.
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