Polygonum aviculare
L.
Knot Grass, Prostrate Knotweed, Creeping wireweed
(c) Douglas Goldman, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Douglas Goldman
(c) Иван Матершев, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Иван Матершев
(c) Douglas Goldman, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Douglas Goldman
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves, Seeds, Leaves - tea
Young leaves and plants can be eaten raw or cooked as a potherb and are very rich in zinc. A nutritional breakdown per 100g of fresh leaves shows: water 81.6%, protein 1.9g, fat 0.3g, carbohydrate 10.2g, fibre 3.5g, and ash 3.5g. The seed can be eaten raw or cooked — though small and fiddly to harvest, it can be used in all the ways buckwheat is used, either whole or ground into flour for pancakes, biscuits, and piñole. The leaves also make a tea substitute.
Known Hazards
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant. It grows in hot arid places with a marked dry season. It grows in wetlands. It grows between 50-2,550 m above sea level and can be up to 4,200 m. In the Indian Himalayas it grows between 3,000-4,000 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places. In Yunnan. In Sichuan.
Africa, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Asia, Australia, Austria, Balkans, Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia, Botswana, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Caucasus, Central Asia, Chile, China, East Africa, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Europe*, Falklands, France, Georgia, Germany, Himalayas, Hungary, India, Indochina, Iraq, Ireland, Kenya, Korea, Kurdistan, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Manchuria, Mexico, Middle East, Mongolia, Myanmar, Namibia, North America, Pakistan, Paraguay, Russia, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Slovenia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Spain, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Tasmania, Turkey, Türkiye, Uruguay, USA, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe,
How to Identify
A small herb which lays along the ground. It has a long and slender but very fibrous taproot. There are many branches coming from this taproot. The branches can be upright but often lie along the ground. They can be 90-120 cm long. On young plants the lower leaves are much larger than the stem leaves. The leaves are narrow and sword shaped. The leaves are blue-green. There can be 5 flowers in the axil of a leaf. The flowers are white.
How to Grow
Succeeds in an ordinary garden soil but prefers a moisture retentive not too fertile soil in sun or part shade. Repays generous treatment, in good soils the plant will cover an area up to a metre in diameter. Prefers an acid soil. Dislikes shade. Knotweed is a common and invasive weed of cultivated ground. It is an important food plant for the caterpillars of many species of butterflies. It also produces an abundance of seeds and these are a favourite food for many species of birds. Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits. The flowers have little or no scent or honey and are rarely visited by pollinating insects. Self-fertilization is the usual method of reproduction, though cross-fertilization by insects does sometimes occur. The plant also produces cleistogomous flowers - these never open and therefore are always self-fertilized. The plant is very variable and is seen by most botanists as an aggregate species of 4 very variable species, viz. - P. aviculare. L.; P. boreale. (Lange.)Small.; P. rurivacum. Jord. ex Box.; and P. arenastrum. Box.
Propagation: Seed should be sown in spring in a cold frame, where germination is usually free and easy. Prick seedlings into individual pots when large enough to handle and plant out during summer if sufficiently developed, or overwinter in a cold frame and plant out the following spring after the last expected frosts. Division in spring or autumn is very easy. Larger divisions can be planted directly into permanent positions, while smaller ones do better potted up and grown on in light shade in a cold frame until well established before planting out in late spring or early summer.
Medicinal Uses
Knotweed is a safe and effective astringent and diuretic herb used mainly to treat dysentery and haemorrhoids. The silicic acid it contains is thought to strengthen connective tissue in the lungs, making it useful for pulmonary complaints as well. The whole plant is anthelmintic, astringent, cardiotonic, cholagogue, diuretic, febrifuge, haemostatic, lithontriptic, and vulnerary. Traditionally it was widely used internally and externally for wounds, bleeding, piles, and diarrhoea. Its diuretic action is useful for dissolving stones. An alcohol-based preparation has been used successfully to treat recently developed varicose veins. The plant is harvested in summer and early autumn and dried for later use. The leaves are anthelmintic, diuretic, and emollient. The juice of the plant is weakly diuretic, expectorant, and vasoconstrictive, and applied externally it is an effective remedy for nosebleeds and sores. The seeds are emetic and purgative. Recent research found the plant useful against bacterial dysentery: of 108 patients treated internally with a paste of knotweed, 104 recovered within 5 days.
Other Uses
The plant yields a blue dye considered not much inferior to indigo, likely from the leaves. Yellow and green dyes can also be obtained from the whole plant. The roots contain tannins, though the quantity has not been specified.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Polygonum aviculare or common knotgrass is a plant related to buckwheat and dock. It is also called prostrate knotweed, birdweed, pigweed and lowgrass. It is an annual found in fields and wasteland, with white flowers from June to October. It is widespread across many countries in temperate regions, apparently native to Eurasia, naturalized in temperate parts of the Southern Hemisphere.
Notes
Chemical composition: Sugar = 2.5%. Ash = 2.44%. Very rich in zinc. There are about 50 Polygonum species.
Names & Synonyms
Ban-natia, Bandakay, Banduke, Bannalia, Banonatia, Bianduya ebesu, Bianxu, Bianxucai, Centinodia, Chencheghpashar, Cien nudos, Corredora, Drop, Gooseweed, Gorets ptichii, Gusina travka, Hunraj, Kesru, Kusdili, Machoti, Machutie, Michi-yanagi, Mit'it'ela, Nadi, Nanjujek, Nisomali, Pasto chanchero, Pasto pollo, Pato del pollo, Pimienta de agua, Pinkweed, Rau dang, Sandrug, Sangriana, Sanguinaria, Sanjines, Smartweed, Sporish, Troskot, Wireweed
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