Polygonum convolvulus L.

Black bindweed, wild buckwheat, false buckwheat

About plant names...

Wild buckwheat is a European native. It is a vine that snakes along the ground or clambers over other plants or anything else it can latch onto, winding itself in a clockwise direction around supports. Plants are up to 3' (1 m) long. At points where leaves attach there is an ocrea, or sheath. Leaves are alternate and roughly triangular to heart-shaped, with smooth edges. The lower corners of each triangle are pointed inward toward the leaf petiole (stem). Leaves are ½-2" (1.5-6 cm) × ¼-1" (7-30 mm) wide. Flowers are small, ⅛" (4 mm) each, in long thin clusters, sort of weird-looking, greenish-white to greenish-pink.

9/18/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 4½" (17 × 11 cm) ID is uncertain

9/18/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain

Some similar species:

	You are here Polygonum convolvulus	Polygonum scandens	Polygonum cilinode
Common Name	black bindweed	climbing false buckwheat	fringed bindweed
Plant	Vine up to 3' (1 m) long. At leaf nodes there is an ocrea.	Vines up to 20' (6.1 m) long. Stems are light green to bright red, almost hairless. Where leaves attach to the stem, there is a protective sheath, or ocrea	Stems are 12-197" (30-500 cm) long. It climbs by twining around other stems, from right to left. There are stiff bristles at each node (ocrea. Each ocrea is ¹/₁₆-⅛" (3-4 mm) long.
Flowers	Small, greenish-pink to greenish-white, in racemes (bunches); individual flowers are ⅛" (4 mm) long, racemes are up to 2½" (6.3 cm) long	Racemes are 2-8" (5-20 cm) long, with small greenish flowers.	Panicles are 1½-4" (4-10 cm) long, comprised of greenish-white or pink-fringed flowers. Each flower is 5-parted. Flowers appear from June to October.
Leaves	Alternate, triangular or heart-shaped, lower corners of leaves aim inward toward the petiole (leaf stem)	Ovate, approaching sagittate (shaped like an arrowhead), up to 2" (5 cm) × 4" (10 cm). Leaf petioles are up to 1½" (3.8 cm) long	Alternate, oval to triangular, with wavy margins, often with reddish veins standing out. Their stems (petioles) are ⅜-2" (1-6 cm) long.
Fruit	Three-sided, with a single dull black seed	Greenish, with white or pink borders.	⅛-³/₁₆" (4-6 mm) seeds are black and very shiny.
Range/ Zones
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild

Online References:

The University of Wisconsin's Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium

Missouriplants.com

The Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide

Ontario Wildflowers

Wikipedia

CalPhotos

SEINet—the Southwest Environmental Information Network

References:

Newcomb, Lawrence, Morrison, Gordon (Illus.), Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, Little, Brown and Company, 1977, p. 322

Peterson, Roger Tory, McKenny, Margaret, Peterson Field Guides: Wildflowers—Northeastern and North Central North America, Houghton Mifflin, 1968, p. 380

9/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 15 × 10" (39 × 26 cm)

Note the climbing False Buckwheat (Polygonum scandens) overtaking the loosestrife. · 7/28/2009 · Near Nashua River Boat Ramp, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 30 × 44" (75 × 112 cm)

9/3/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 9" (14 × 22 cm) ID is uncertain

Polygonum convolvulus description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 6 Sep 2021.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

9/18/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 5" (17 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

9/3/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 19 cm) ID is uncertain

9/3/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 12 cm) ID is uncertain

9/3/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 9" (14 × 22 cm) ID is uncertain

Range:

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