Northern Knotgrass

Polygonum boreale

Please keep in mind that it is illegal to uproot a plant without the landowner's consent and care should be taken at all times not to damage wild plants. Wild plants should never be picked for pleasure and some plants are protected by law.
For more information please download the BSBI Code of Conduct PDF document.

Plant Data

Flowering Months:

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

Order:

Caryophyllales

Family:

Polygonaceae (Dock)

Also in this family:

Alpine Bistort, Amphibious Bistort, Argentine Dock, Black Bindweed, Broad-leaved Dock, Clustered Dock, Common Bistort, Common Buckwheat, Common Knotgrass, Common Sorrel, Copse Bindweed, Cornfield Knotgrass, Curled Dock, Equal-leaved Knotgrass, Fiddle Dock, French Sorrel, Garden Rhubarb, Giant Knotweed, Golden Dock, Greek Dock, Iceland Purslane, Japanese Knotweed, Least Water-pepper, Lesser Knotweed, Marsh Dock, Monk's Rhubarb, Mountain Sorrel, Northern Dock, Pale Persicaria, Patience Dock, Ray's Knotgrass, Red Bistort, Redleg, Russian Vine, Scottish Dock, Sea Knotgrass, Sheep Sorrel, Shore Dock, Tasteless Water-pepper, Water Dock, Water-pepper, Wood Dock

Type:

Flower

Life Cycle:

Annual

Maximum Size:

60 centimetres tall

Habitats:

Beaches, farmland, roadsides, sand dunes, seaside, wasteland.

Flower:

Pink, 5 petals

White flowers, pink-edged. The flowers are slightly larger than Common Knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare). The flowers are situated at the bases of the leaves.

Fruit:

The fruit is an achene.

Leaves:

A scrambling annual flower with oblong-oval leaves.. Northern Knotgrass differs from most other species of knotgrass in that it's leaves are much larger. The leaves are short-stalked and rounded at the ends.

Frequency (UK):

Unusual

Similar Species:

Common Knotgrass

Distribution Map

Reproduced by kind permission of the BSBI.

Click to open an Interactive Map