Wild buckwheat – Fallopia convolvulus
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EmailFallopia convolvulus L.
Polygonaceae (Smartweed family)
MI Status
Non-native
Life cycle
Twining summer annual vine.
Leaves
Cotyledons are oblong-oval to linear. Leaves are alternate, hairless and heart- to triangle-shaped with a pointed tip and smooth margins.
Stems
Twining, herbaceous, smooth vines branch at the base and are less than 3 feet long. A membranous sheath (ocrea) surrounds the stem at the base of each petiole.
Flowers and fruit
Flowers are inconspicuous and green to white or pink. The seed is enclosed in a single-seeded, dull black, three-sided fruit.
Reproduction
Seeds.
Similar weeds
Mile-a-minute (P. perfoliatum L.)
Differs by having downward-pointing prickles on the stems, petioles and leaf veins.
Tartary buckwheat
[Fagopyrum tataricum (L.) Gaertn.]
Differs by having a more erect habit, arrow-shaped leaves and a grooved, hollow stem.
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