
Image: Wikimedia Commons (See link for license)
Japanese Knotweed🌿
Reynoutria japonica
イタドリ
A large, vigorous perennial herb found along roadsides and on disturbed land throughout Japan. Notorious as an invasive species abroad (Japanese knotweed). Young stems are sour and edible. Numerous small white flowers bloom in autumn.
Identification Points
- ✓Large (1-2 m) with hollow, jointed stems
- ✓Stems have reddish speckles
- ✓Leaves are large and broadly ovate
- ✓Small white to pale pink flowers in spike-like panicles in autumn
Habitat
Roadsides, wastelands, riverbanks, mountain areas
Season
August to October (flowers)
3D Specimen Model
Kyushu University, Shikano Lab (CC0)
View on Sketchfab→Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf shape
Cordate
Growth form
Herb
Petal fusion
No petals
Habitat
Roadside
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Ovary position
Superior
Phylogenetic Positionタデ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Caryophyllales > Polygonaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene
Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification