Swamp Smartweed

Biological Name:

Polygonum coccineum (Swamp-Smartweed)

Natural Habitat:

Swamp-Smartweed: This plant is native to North America, where it can be found in wetland habitats, such as marshes and swamps.

Description:

Swamp-Smartweed also known as Polygonum is a plant that is native to wetland and riparian areas of North America. It is an annual herb that can grow up to six feet tall and it has small oval-shaped leaves and small white or pink flowers that bloom in the summer. The plant is known for its ability to tolerate wet marshy conditions and it is often found growing along the edges of ponds and streams.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Can you eat swamp smartweed?
A: Mature leaves and stems chopped up and used sparingly as pepper, leaves and stems boils in soups, again sparingly. Numerous herbal applications. The roots of some species are edible cooked, some require a little cooking, others require much cooking. The seeds of some are also edible.
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Q: Is smartweed good for bees?
A: It is known to be an excellent bee plant.
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Q: What animal eats smartweed?
A: This plant is an excellent wildlife food plant, especially for waterfowl. Twenty species of ducks, geese, bobwhites, mourning doves, ring-necked pheasants, and four species of rails, as well as 30 nongame birds, eat the seeds. Dense stands provide cover for young waterfowl, marsh birds, and wintering pheasants.
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Q: Is smartweed good for ponds?
A: This perennial plant is often considered a nuisance; however, water smartweed is an important food source for aquatic waterfowl, songbirds, quail, doves, and small mammals. They also hold soil and purify the water. To prevent overabundant growth treat invaded area early in the season before dense stands of weed occur.
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Q: Will deer eat smartweed?
A: White-tailed Deer, Eastern Cottontail, and Muskrat are said to eat the plant itself.
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Q: What is difference between smartweed and knotweed?
A: Smartweeds are much smaller than the non-native knotweeds and only grow a few feet tall. They have more flimsy stems and do not grow to be large shrubs.
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Q: Is smartweed a perennial?
A: Smartweed (Polygonum pensylvanicum) is an annual broadleaf. As an annual, it reproduces through seeds that drop near the parent plant to produce new plants. The most effective control methods focus on preventing the plants from producing seeds.
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Q: Should I pull smartweed?
A: Some annual Smartweeds are easily controlled by pulling the weeds out after misting the soil lightly. For the perennial Knotweeds, persistence is needed to mechanically remove the crown and roots in established plants — it is best to pull them when they emerge.
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Q: How do you control smartweed?
A: Cultural Control Pennsylvania Smartweed can be controlled by hand removal or frequent mowing. This weed thrives off of moist soil. By restricting water and improving drainage, the weed will struggle to survive. It also cannot live through any hoeing before it grows larger than ¼ inches tall.
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Q: Do whitetail deer eat smartweed?
A: White-tailed Deer, Eastern Cottontail, and Muskrat are said to eat the plant itself.
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Q: Do honeybees like smartweed?
A: Smartweed is found around the levees of rice fields. Its pink blooms attract great numbers of honey bees in the early fall. After smartweed is pollinated by honey bees, it produces large amounts of seed which propagate the plant and provide food for ducks and other birds.
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Q: How does smartweed reproduce?
A: Smartweed (Polygonum pensylvanicum) is an annual broadleaf. As an annual, it reproduces through seeds that drop near the parent plant to produce new plants. The most effective control methods focus on preventing the plants from producing seeds.
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Q: What is smartweed good for?
A: Smartweed is an herb. The above-ground parts are used to make medicine. People use smartweed for diarrhea, to stop bleeding, for the common cold, and other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.
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Q: Is smartweed poisonous to dogs?
A: Smartweeds: Do not let your dog lick the sap of the smartweed wildflower. Snow-on-the-mountain: This field plant has toxic sap when consumed by dogs. Soapberry: Dog poisoning symptoms are diarrhea and vomiting.
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Q: What does smartweed taste like?
A: The leaves have a pungent, acrid, bitter taste (something like peppermint), which resides in the glandulat dots on its surface, no odour. —Constituents—The plant’s irritant medicinal properties are due to an active principle not fully understood, called Polygonic Acid (when discovered by Dr.
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Q: How do I get rid of swamp smartweed?
A: Rodeo.Aquamaster.Eraser AQ.Touchdown Pro.AquaNeat.Refuge.
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Q: What animal eats smartweed?
A: This plant is an excellent wildlife food plant, especially for waterfowl. Twenty species of ducks, geese, bobwhites, mourning doves, ring-necked pheasants, and four species of rails, as well as 30 nongame birds, eat the seeds. Dense stands provide cover for young waterfowl, marsh birds, and wintering pheasants.
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About the author

Samuel is a gardening professional and enthusiast who has spent over 20 years advising homeowners and farm owners on weed identification, prevention and removal. He has an undergraduate degree in plant and soil science from Michigan State University.