mile-a-minute weed (Invasive Plants of South Mountain Reservation)

mile-a-minute weed

Persicaria perfoliata

Summary ⁴

Persicaria perfoliata is a synonym for Polygonum perfoliatum, a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family. Common names include mile-a-minute weed, devil's tail, giant climbing tearthumb, and Asiatic tearthumb. It is a trailing herbaceous annual vine with barbed stems and triangular leaves. It is native to most of temperate and tropical eastern Asia, from eastern Russia in the north down to the Philippines and India in the south.

P. perfoliata is an aggressive, highly invasive weed. In Europe, Persicaria perfoliata is included since 2016 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list).[7] This implies that this species cannot be imported, cultivated, transported, commercialized, planted, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union.

Persicaria perfoliata is an edible species. Its tender leaves and shoots can be eaten raw or cooked as a salad green or vegetable and its fruit is sweet and can be eaten fresh. In traditional Chinese medicine, Persicaria perfoliata is known as gangbangui (Chinese pinyin: gāngbǎngūi), and is thought to be useful for various remedies in herbal medicine. It can also be used as a fiber or used in rope making.

Sources and Credits

(c) kayfoo, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) 潘立傑 LiChieh Pan, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3219/2494114505_181d4c3298.jpg
(c) Tom Potterfield, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/tgpotterfield/15529792436/
Adapted by Tom Pollard from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persicaria_perfoliata

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