Fallopia sachalinensis

Taxobox
name = "Fallopia sachalinensis"

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image_width = 270px
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Caryophyllales
familia = Polygonaceae
genus = "Fallopia"
species = "F. sachalinensis"
binomial = "Fallopia sachalinensis"
binomial_authority = (F.Schmidt)

"Fallopia sachalinensis" (Giant Knotweed or Sakhalin Knotweed; Japanese オオイタドリ "ooitadori", Russian Горец сахалинский, Гречиха сахалинская; syn. "Polygonum sachalinense" F.Schmidt, "Reynoutria sachalinensis" (F.Schmidt) Nakai) is a species of "Fallopia" native to northeastern Asia in northern Japan (Hokkaidō, Honshū) and the far east of Russia (Sakhalin and the southern Kurile Islands).Germplasm Resources Information Network: [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?409770 "Fallopia sachalinensis"] ]

It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 2–4 m tall, with strong, extensively spreading rhizomes forming large clonal colonies. The leaves are 15–40 cm long and 10–28 cm broad, nearly heart-shaped, with a somewhat wavy, crenate margin. The flowers are small, produced on short, dense panicles up to 10 cm long in late summer or early autumn; it is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants. It is closely related to "Fallopia japonica", and can be distinguished from it by its larger size, and in its leaves having a heart-shaped (not straight) base and a crenate margin. It has a chromosome count of 2n=44.Flora of NW Europe: [http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/BIS/flora.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=2026 "Fallopia sachalinensis"] ] Huxley, A., ed. (1992). "New RHS Dictionary of Gardening". Macmillan ISBN 0-333-47494-5.]

Cultivation and uses

The shoots are tender and edible. It was introduced to Europe and grown in many botanic gardens. It came prominently into notice about 1893, when a drought in western Europe caused a decided shortage in forage for cattle. This plant was little affected, and since its tender shoots and leaves were eaten by stock, the plant was widely grown experimentally as a forage crop. It has proved less useful than was predicted, and its deliberate cultivation has been almost entirely abandoned."New International Encyclopedia". Yale University Press, 1926.] It has however, like "F. japonica", proved to be an invasive weed in several areas.Sukopp, H. and U. Starfinger. (1995). "Reynoutria sachalinensis in Europe and in the Far East: A comparison of the species' ecology in its native and adventive distribution range". Pp. 151-159 in: Anon., "Plant Invasions: General Aspects and Social Problems". Kostelec nad Cernymi lesy, Czech Republic.]

It has hybridised with "Fallopia japonica" in cultivation; the hybrid, "Fallopia × bohemica" (Chrtek & Chrtková) J.P.Bailey, is frequently found in the British Isles and elsewhere.Japanese Knotweed Alliance: [http://www.cabi-bioscience.org/html/japanese_knotweed_alliance2.htm "Fallopia" hybrids] ]

References