General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Annual
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Full Sun to Partial Shade
Partial or Dappled Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Plant Height: 12 - 48 inches
Plant Spread: 12 - 18 inches
Fruit: Edible to birds
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: Pink
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Late summer or early fall
Fall

Image
Common names
  • Pennsylvania Smartweed
  • Smartweed
  • Big Seeded Smartweed
  • Pink Knotweed
  • Pinkweed
Botanical names
  • Accepted: Persicaria pensylvanica
  • Synonym: Polygonum pensylvanicum

Photo Gallery
Location: Northeastern, Texas
Date: 2020-09-29
Location: Aberdeen, NC Pages Lake park
Date: August 9, 2022
Pennsylvania Smartweed #299 (now Persicaria pensylvanica);  RAB p
Location: Northeastern, Texas
Date: 2020-09-29
Location: Millersville MD
Date: 2020-04-03
Seedlings in early spring look thick and are purple underneath
Location: Rulo Bluffs, southeast Nebraska
Date: 2012-09-10

Photo courtesy of: Tom Potterfield
Location: Millersville MD
Date: 2020-05-18
Buds appear in May on very young plants

Photo courtesy of: Tom Potterfield
Location: central Illinois
Date: 2016-10-01
Comments:
  • Posted by sallyg (central Maryland - Zone 7b) on May 17, 2020 5:26 PM concerning plant:
    This is a very common backyard weed in my area of Central Maryland. Emerges in very early spring and can start to bloom in May. Cultivating the garden this spring resulted in a lot of these growing, along with henbit and others.
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