Prostrate knotweed: Polygonum aviculare
Classification
Kingdom:
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Plantae
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(unranked):
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Angiosperms
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(unranked):
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Eudicots
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(unranked):
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Core eudicots
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Order:
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Caryophyllales
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Family:
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Polygonaceae
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Genus:
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Polygonum
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Species:
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Polygonum aviculare L.
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Subspecies
-Polygonum aviculare subsp. Aviculare.
-Polygonum aviculare subsp. depressum (Meisn.)
Arcang.
-Polygonum aviculare subsp. rurivagum (Jord.
ex Boreau) Berher in Louis.
The names
Common names: Protrate knotweeed, Knotgrass.
Latin name: Polygonum aviculare L.
Other names: Knotweed, Birdweed, Pigweed, Lowgrass, Centinode,
Ninety-knot. Nine-joints, Allseed, Bird's Tongue, Sparrow Tongue, Red Robin,
Armstrong, Cowgrass, Hogweed, Pigrush, Swynel Grass, Swine's Grass, Wireweed.
Description
Weed Description
Knotgrass can be found on fields and wasteland all around
the world
Knotgrass is an annual plant, growing up to 2 meters in
height. It has a woody, branched root and much branched stems, varying in
size. When it grows on a suitable soil and clear of other vegetation, the stems
are prostrate with large leaves; when it grows crowded by other plants, stems
are upright and the leaves are smaller. Leaves are arranged alternately,
lanceolate or oval, and usually stalkless. Tiny flowers are formed in clusters
of two to three, in the axils of the stem. They vary in color: pink, red,
green, or pale white. The plant is in flower from May to October.
A prostrate
summer annual with small, elliptic leaves that is primarily found in compacted
areas of turfgrass such as pathways or sports fields. Prostrate knotweed
is found throughout the United
States
Prostrate Knotweed (Polygonum aviculare) is a
low-growing, broad-leaved (non-grass) annual that germinates very early in
spring. The mass of young seedlings are sometimes mistaken for grass or
crabgrass, but as they grow they branch and spread widely across the ground.
This low-growing plant is anchored by a thin, white taproot.
Tough, wiry branch stems are covered by small, oval, blue-green leaves. When
stems or leaves are broken, any sap that exudes from the wounds is clear, not
milky. At each point along the stem where a leaf is attached, there is a small,
papery sheath.
Prostrate knotweed strongly prefers soil that is hard,
compacted, and poorly aerated. It also seems to be rather salt tolerant, but
not shade tolerant. Thus it typically is found along streets where plows have
piled road salt-laden snow and slush, along paths and sidewalks, and hard
trampled, sunny areas in lawns.
It is also called birdweed, pigweed and lowgrass. It is an annual found in
fields and wasteland, with white flowers from June to October.
-Roots: A taproot.
-Stems: Branching, growing
prostrate along the ground, ranging from 4 to 24 inches in length. Stems
are swollen at the nodes with a thin membranous sheath (ocrea) encircling the
stem at each leaf base.
Prostrate knotweed's branches do not root to the ground as
they grow. They may extend a foot or more in length, so one sprawling plant
could extend over two feet across.
-Leaves: Arranged alternately along the
stem, lanceolate in outline, approximately 1/2 to 1 1/4 inches long and 1 to 8
mm wide. Leaves have short petioles and a distinctive thin membranous
sheath (ocrea) that encircles the stem at the leaf base.
-Flowers: Occur in the
area between the stems and leaves (leaf axils). From 1 to 5 flowers occur
in clusters and are very small and inconspicuous, white to pinkish-white in
color.
The flowers of knotweed are small pink to white and form in
clusters in the leaf axis. Flowers form in late spring. Knotweed spreads by
seed.
-Fruit: A dark red to brown
achene.
-Seedlings: Cotyledons are narrow, linear in
outline, often resembling and being mistaken for a grass. The stem below
the cotyledons (hypocotyl) is often reddish in color.
Identifying Characteristics
Prostrate-growing plants with small lanceolate
leaves that are primarily found in hard compacted areas of turfgrass and
landscapes. Some of the spurges like Spotted
Spurge (Euphorbia maculata) may be confused with prostrate knotweed,
however the spurges do not have an ocrea and emit a milky sap when cut unlike
prostrate knotweed.
Prostrate Knotweed is a summer annual, which forms dense
patches. Prostrate knotweed is probably the earliest of the summer annuals to
germinate in the spring. Prostrate knotweed is often confused with first-leaf crabgrass. Prostrate knotweed is a
prostrate weed that produces a thin tap root and multiple branched stems. Even
though knotweed does not root down at the nodes of the stems, a single plant
can form a dense mass up to three feet across. Prostrate knotweed tolerates
extremely compacted soils and is often found in high traffic areas. The leaves
appear alternately on the stems, and differ in the color of green depending on
the age of the leaf, with older leaves being a less intense green. The stems
will be knotty and have a paper like sheath.
Knotgrass is used as food and drinks
In Vietnam
Resveratrol was discovered by scientists that monitored that
habits of the French. They were boggled that the French consume such high fatty
foods, yet do not seem to have the heart and health problems of this lifestyle.
The consumption of red wine was the link that researchers were looking for to
make the connection about longevity.
If you are looking for a resveratrol
recommended dosage for a specific health problem, you might ask a practitioner
of traditional Japanese or Chinese herbal medicine about the appropriate dose
of Japanese knotweed. Of course, they would only recommend the plant for use as
a laxative, to relieve constipation or promote regularity.
Japanese knotweed is the most concentrated
source of resveratrol and is the source for most dietary supplements. It is
found in grape skins and peanuts, too. But, the supplement only appeared on
shelves after news reports proclaimed that it was “the” compound in red wine
that accounted for the health benefits of the beverage.
Later, conflicting research concluded that
it could not account for the benefits, because the concentration was too low.
That result never made it to the mass media. When the studies about red wine
were released, vineyards wanted to have it classified as a “health food”.
A liter of red wine with the highest
concentration would only contain 12.59mg of the compound. The dried knotweed
root contains as much as 187mg/kg or 187mcg/gram. So, if a practitioner
suggested 24 grams to relieve severe constipation, the patient would only
receive about 4.48mg of resveratrol.
At higher dosages, which are found in some
of the supplements on the market, all of the known health benefits of this
potent antioxidant are negated, because it becomes a pro-oxidant, meaning that
it is something like a free radical, which is what antioxidants normally
neutralize.
See more on: http://ctta.net/health/?cat=76
See more on: http://ctta.net/health/?cat=76
Prostrate Knotweed (Polygonum aviculare) is used as medicines
Knotweed is an herb. The whole flowering plant is used to
make medicine.
In Asia , knotweed is used in
the rural medicines to cure many diseases such as : Bronchitis; cough; lung
diseases; skin diseases; decreasing sweating with tuberculosis; increasing
urine; redness, swelling, and bleeding of the gums, mouth, and throat; and
preventing or stopping bleeding.
Not all of these uses are supported by
scientific evidence. The plant is anastringent, coagulant, diuretic and expectorant.
Modern herbalists use it to treat dysentery, excessive menstrual flow,
lung disorders, bronchitis and jaundice,
and gall and kidney
stones.
Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database rates effectiveness
based on scientific evidence according to the following scale: Effective,
Likely Effective, Possibly Effective, Possibly Ineffective, Likely Ineffective,
and Insufficient Evidence to Rate.
See LIST OF MEDICINAL HERBS – INDEX on
http://health-from-nature.net/Medicinal_Herbs_INDEX.html for more informations.
See LIST OF MEDICINAL HERBS – INDEX on
http://health-from-nature.net/Medicinal_Herbs_INDEX.html for more informations.
In China
Parts used: Aerial parts, gathered in summer and dried.
Useful components: Tannins, flavonoids, mucilage, coumarins, siic acid,
phenolcarboxylic acids
Medicinal use: Knotgrass is considered to be astringent, diuretic, emetic,
purgative, vulnerary and styptic. It has been used for centuries in folk
medicine for diarrhea, coughs, bronchial catarrh, inflammations of the mouth
and upper respiratory tract, liver and kidney disorders. The decoction made
from Knotgrass was administered to kill worms. The fresh juice has been used
for nose bleed. An ointment made from the plant is an excellent remedy for
sores.
Safety: Some herbs
could react with certain medication. Therefore it is advisable to contact your
doctor/herbalist before consumption of any herb.
Kidney Deficiency Treatment
For weakened kidneys, drinking a mixture of prepared
rehmannia root, wolfberry fruit, dogwood fruit, achyranthine root, bighead
atractylodes rhizome, eucommia bark, cinnamon bark, pilose Asiabell root,
lysimachia and climbing fern spore can help clean and restore strength to the
kidneys.
Chinese Medicine for Kidney Pain
Pain from kidney stones or other disorders can be
excruciating, and while Western medicine offers some good treatment options,
others are choosing approaches in favor in the East. For instance, Chinese
medicine has its own unique, effective way of treating ailments and diseases.
This a treatment option for pain brought on by small kidney
stones. Its aim is to promote circulation of the qi (life force) and induce
diuresis, which is the increase of urine production by the kidney. By using
various herbs and plants, such as rhubarb, radish seeds and pyrrosia leaf, the
body is cleaned and the stones dislodged.
Damp Heat Type
This method involves diluting lysimachia, prostate knotweed,
Chinese pink herb, talc, phellodendron bark, Cape jasmine fruit, plantago seed,
rhubarb and licorice root tip in water and drinking it. This method is best for
treating more serious cases, in which the patient sees blood or pus in his
urine or has a fever.
Acupuncture Treatment
Acupuncture therapy can also aid in relieving kidney pain,
as this process releases painkilling endorphins that attack the source of the
discomfort.
Electrotherapy
Electrotherapy is also an effective form of Chinese medicine
helpful in easing kidney pain. The same acupuncture points are used, though an
electrode is used to stimulate the body to speed healing.
Knotweed is an herb that is very hard to kill
Herbicide applications should be timed to catch plants prior
to prostrate growth; the best control results will be obtained in the spring
when plants are still upright and actively growing, from seedling to flower
stage.
Prostrate knotweed is a supreme indicator weed. Knotweed is the earliest germinating of all the
summer annual weeds. Due to its early germination timing, knotweed is able to
claim resources and invade damaged areas before other desirable grasses begin
to grow.
Prostrate knotweed is commonly associated
with soil compaction and can be seen in gravel
roadbeds, sidewalk edges, crevices, paths and other high-traffic
areas (like in front of soccer goals). When knotweed germinates in March is
often resembles grass and can offer some false hope that
those damaged areas are spontaneously repairing themselves where the snowplow missed the sidewalk. The root
system of prostrate knotweed is extremely fine and can mine even the most
compacted soils. Prostrate knotweed produces very diminutive pinkish-white flowers in the axils of the leaves and
reproduces by seed.
The characteristics of the knotweed that creates knotweed
resveratrol are many advantageous ones. Knotweed is considered an invasive
species, just another term for weed. It’s in the 100 Worst Weeds list. This
plant lives for more than two years. Knotweed is very hard to kill and to
completely eliminate it from an area is almost impossible. The weed can live in
both extreme cold and extreme hot temperatures. It even survives in -30 degrees
F. The roots can go down to almost ten feet deep.
Knotweed may be physically removed, although compact soil
conditions may make complete root removal difficult.
Broad-leafed herbicides can also be used to eliminate young
knotweed. A mix of 2-4,D and MCPP (mecoprop), can work when used early in the
season. It may have to be used more than once to achieve good control. A mix of
2,4-D, MCPP, and dicamba may be more effective, but be careful not to use it
beneath young trees as it can be absorbed by their roots.
The best time to spray knotweed is in spring, when wind is
calm and temperatures range between the high 50s and the low 80s and no rain is
expected for 24-48 hours. The weeds must be growing actively. Be sure to read and follow the product's label instructions and
precautions.
Lawn chemical application companies may be able to prevent
knotweed with an early application of the pre-emergent herbicide isoxaben,
which is not available to homeowners directly. Once
established, knotweed is very difficult to remove with most herbicides.
Edited and posted by Hồ Đình Hải
Edited and posted by Hồ Đình Hải
References
3-Polygonum aviculare – Wikipedia… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygonum_aviculare -
4-Knotgrass - Definition and More…www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knotgrass –
5-Zodiac signs Astrology and Plants - Herbs Knotgrass
www.findyourfate.com/.../knotgrass.html -
6-Common Knotgrass | The Wildlife Trusts www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/common-knotgrass -
7-Knotgrass (Ray's) wildflowerfinder.org.uk/.../Knotgrass(Rays)/Knotgrass...
8-Glossary - Knotgrass - Rigby Taylor www.rigbytaylor.com/Glossary
9-KNOTGRASS definition www.searchdictionaries.com/?q=knotgrass –
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