Polygonum scandens L.

Climbing false buckwheat

About plant names...

Climbing buckwheat is a common, robust North American native. The genus Polygonum means "many knees"—a reference to the jointed sheaths the are found wherever leaf stems meet the vine.

Plants: These vines twist and clamber rapidly over other plants, reaching lengths up to 20' (6.1 m). The green vines often turn deep red in the sun, and are hairless.

Leaves: Ovate (heart-shaped), almost sagittate (arrowhead-shaped), sharp-tipped, alternate, up to 2" (5 cm) × 4" (10 cm). Where each leaf stem attaches to the vine, the vine is somewhat swollen, forming a sort of protective sheath. Leaf stems are up to 1½" (3.8 cm) long.

Flowers: The flower clusters (racemes) are 2-8" (5-20 cm) long, composed of greenish, rather unflowerlike flowers bordered with three tepals that are the fruit. Flowers are ¼" (8.5 mm) around.

Fruits: Greenish and bordered with white or pink. about ¼" (8.5 mm) around.

9/14/2009 · Near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 16 × 24" (41 × 62 cm) ID is uncertain

6/28/2012 · Mt. Watatic, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4 × 5" (10 × 12 cm) ID is uncertain

Some similar species:

	Polygonum convolvulus	You are here Polygonum scandens	Polygonum cilinode
Common Name	black bindweed	climbing false buckwheat	fringed bindweed
Plant	Vine up to 3' (1 m) long. At leaf nodes there is an ocrea.	Vines up to 20' (6.1 m) long. Stems are light green to bright red, almost hairless. Where leaves attach to the stem, there is a protective sheath, or ocrea	Stems are 12-197" (30-500 cm) long. It climbs by twining around other stems, from right to left. There are stiff bristles at each node (ocrea. Each ocrea is ¹/₁₆-⅛" (3-4 mm) long.
Flowers	Small, greenish-pink to greenish-white, in racemes (bunches); individual flowers are ⅛" (4 mm) long, racemes are up to 2½" (6.3 cm) long	Racemes are 2-8" (5-20 cm) long, with small greenish flowers.	Panicles are 1½-4" (4-10 cm) long, comprised of greenish-white or pink-fringed flowers. Each flower is 5-parted. Flowers appear from June to October.
Leaves	Alternate, triangular or heart-shaped, lower corners of leaves aim inward toward the petiole (leaf stem)	Ovate, approaching sagittate (shaped like an arrowhead), up to 2" (5 cm) × 4" (10 cm). Leaf petioles are up to 1½" (3.8 cm) long	Alternate, oval to triangular, with wavy margins, often with reddish veins standing out. Their stems (petioles) are ⅜-2" (1-6 cm) long.
Fruit	Three-sided, with a single dull black seed	Greenish, with white or pink borders.	⅛-³/₁₆" (4-6 mm) seeds are black and very shiny.
Range/ Zones
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild

Edibility: The seeds can be processed into flour.

Online References:

Missouriplants.com

Illinois Wildflowers

Southeastern Flora, the Southeastern U.S. Plant Identification Resource

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

EFloras

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 272

9/14/2009 · Near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 12 × 17" (29 × 44 cm) ID is uncertain

7/17/2019 · Oceanview, Falmouth, Maine
≈ 6 × 5" (14 × 13 cm)

6/28/2012 · Mt. Watatic, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3 × 4" (7.9 × 10 cm) ID is uncertain

9/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 9" (14 × 22 cm)

9/11/2012 · Mt. Watatic, Ashburnham, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 12 × 8" (31 × 20 cm) ID is uncertain

9/11/2012 · Mt. Watatic, Ashburnham, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm) ID is uncertain

Polygonum scandens description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 6 Sep 2021.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

9/11/2012 · Mt. Watatic, Ashburnham, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm) ID is uncertain

6/28/2012 · Mt. Watatic, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

9/11/2012 · Mt. Watatic, Ashburnham, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm) ID is uncertain

9/14/2009 · Near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 12 × 17" (29 × 44 cm) ID is uncertain

6/28/2012 · Mt. Watatic, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3 × 4½" (7.9 × 11 cm) ID is uncertain

7/17/2019 · Oceanview, Falmouth, Maine
≈ 7 × 5" (18 × 12 cm)

Range:

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