Japanese Knotweed

Fallopia japonica

Plant Data

Order:

Caryophyllales

Family:

Polygonaceae (Dock)

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Flowers:

Small and white, 5 petals. Forming branched spikes at the bases of the upper leaves.

Fruit:

3-angled seeds contained within a white winged papery encasing. Ripens around September.

Leaves:

The leaves can grow as large as 40cm long and 25cm wide. They grow alternate along the stems and are heart-shaped, toothless and have pointed tips. The young leaves are dark red. As the leaves being to mature, they turn green but the red veins persist a little longer. Eventually the entire leaf turns green, including the veins. The stems on which the leaves emerge from are zigzagged, changing directions at every leaf node. The mature stems are hollow.

Maximum Size:

2 meters tall.

Foraging Notes:

The young shoots and leaves are edible, raw or cooked. High in iodine, vitamins A and C, and the antioxidant resveratrol.
Never consume a wild plant unless you are 100% certain that it is safe to eat and you know that you have identified it correctly.

Aroma:

Fragrant flowers which attract bees.

Other Names:

American Bamboo, Asian Knotweed, Asiatic Knotweed, Bombascus, Donkey Rhubarb, Elephant Ear's, False Bamboo, Fleeceflower, Gypsy Rhubarb, Hancock's Curse, Himalayan Fleece Vine, Itadori, Japanese Bamboo, Japanese Fleeceflower, Japanese Polygonum, Kontiki Bamboo, Mexican Bamboo, Monkey Fungus, Monkeyweed, Pea Shooters, Sally Rhubarb.

Habitats:

Farmland, meadows, riversides, roadsides, towns, wasteland, waterside, wetland, woodland.