Polygonum aviculare

Polygonum aviculare
Common Knotgrass
Polygonum aviculare
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Core eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Polygonum
Species: P. aviculare
Binomial name
Polygonum aviculare
L.

Polygonum aviculare or Common Knotgrass is a plant related to buckwheat and dock. It is also called birdweed, pigweed and lowgrass. It is an annual found in fields and wasteland, with white flowers from June to October.

Contents

Herbalism

Culpeper recommended knotweed to cure the spitting of blood. Modern herbalists use it to treat dysentery, excessive menstrual flow, lung disorders, bronchitis and jaundice, and gall and kidney stones. Not all of these uses are supported by scientific evidence.

The plant is an astringent, coagulant, diuretic and expectorant.

Cuisine

In Vietnam, where it is called rau đắng, it is widely used to prepare soup and hot pot, particularly in the South region.

Subspecies

  • Polygonum aviculare subsp. aviculare
  • Polygonum aviculare subsp. depressum (Meisn.) Arcang.
  • Polygonum aviculare subsp. rurivagum (Jord. ex Boreau) Berher in Louis

References

  • Howard, Michael. Traditional Folk Remedies, (Century, 1987); p. 162.