Polygonum bistorta
Meadow bistort · Common Bistort · Easter-ledges · Snake-root · Snakeweed
Description
Source: leafsnapBistorta officinalis (synonym Persicaria bistorta), known as bistort, common bistort, European bistort or meadow bistort, is a species of flowering plant in the dock family Polygonaceae native to Europe and northern and western Asia. Other common names include snakeroot, snake-root, snakeweed and Easter-ledges.
🌳 Often overlooked, water smartweed plays an interesting role in the diets of both people and animals. People eat its leaves as a leafy vegetable, and in some cultures they are valued for their nutritional content. Additionally, waterfowl—especially ducks—feed on water smartweed as a food source during migration. This dual role in providing sustenance highlights the plant’s cross-species importance beyond being just pond vegetation.
Care Guide
💧 Water
☀️ Light Full sun
Water smartweed grows best in a spot that gets abundant sunlight for most of the day. It can, however, tolerate locations with less sun. Too much or too little sun can affect the plant's health and vigour, and its native habitat is key to understanding its sunlight needs.
🌡️ Temperature 5–32.2°C
Water smartweed grows best in mild conditions, preferring temperatures from 41 to 89.6 °F (5 to 32 ℃). To ensure its growth through changing seasons, the temperature should be closely monitored and adjusted as needed.
💨 Humidity
🪴 Soil
🌱 Fertilizer
🪴 Pot & Repot
✂️ Pruning
🌿 Propagating
🐛 Diseases & pets
☠️ Toxicity
Characteristics
- Plant Type
- Herb
- Life Cycle
- Perennial
- Genus
- Polygonum
- Family
- Polygonaceae
- Hardiness Zone
- 4-8
- Mature Height
- 0.2 m to 3.05 m
- Mature Spread
- 2.13 m
- Leaf Color
- Green
- Leaf Type
- Deciduous
- Flower Color
- Pink
- Flower Size
- 0.76 cm to 2.03 cm
- Bloom Time
- Early summer, Mid summer
- Planting Time
- Spring, Autumn
- Harvest Time
- Mid summer, Late summer
- Native Area
- Turkey, Sweden, India, Mexico, Slovakia, Montenegro, Pakistan, Slovenia, Morocco, Croatia, Belarus, Germany, Ethiopia, Romania, Latvia, Belgium, Portugal, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Lebanon, China, Afghanistan, Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Italy, Japan, Mongolia, Finland, Iran, Azerbaijan, Lesotho, Austria, Yemen, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Russia, Iraq, Iceland, Estonia, South Korea, France, Nepal, Tajikistan, Czech Republic, South Africa, Armenia, Poland, Greece, Serbia, Lithuania, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Denmark, Bhutan, Albania, Ireland, United Kingdom, Hungary, Algeria, Turkmenistan