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Knotweed family🌿
Polygonaceae
タデ科
A family including knotweed, sorrel, Japanese knotweed, and buckwheat. Characteristically, the stem nodes are swollen and enclosed by a membranous ochrea (stipular sheath). Approximately 55 genera and 1,100 species worldwide.
Key Characteristics
- ●Ochrea (membranous sheath) enclosing stem nodes
- ●Petals reduced; sepals often petaloid
- ●Fruit is a trigonous or flattened achene
- ●Leaves simple, mostly alternate
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Opposite
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Entire / Crenate
Growth form
Shrub / Tree / Vine / Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Stipules
Present / Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
3 petals / 4 petals / 5 petals / 6 petals
Petal fusion
Fused
Ovary position
Superior
Plant sex
Dioecious / Hermaphrodite / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Caryophyllales > Polygonaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Establishment of a widespread global distribution