Persicaria capitata

Himalayan smartweed

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Himalayan smartweed is a naturalized perennial herb found in coastal California regions including the North Coast, Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California, and Peninsular Ranges in disturbed places and cultivated areas at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering from June to September, this plant produces pink-red flowers in dense, compact head-like clusters 5 to 20 millimeters wide. Growing with prostrate stems 5 to 50 centimeters long that are glabrous or glandular-hairy, it spreads readily through rhizomes. Its leaves are ovate to elliptic, typically 1.5 to 4 centimeters long, with distinctive dark blotches on the upper surface and glandular hairs on the lower surface. The compact, head-like flower clusters and pink-red blossoms make this non-native plant easily recognizable in disturbed landscapes.

Habitat: Disturbed places; cultivated

Bloom period: Jun-Sep

Elevation: < 500 m

Bioregions: NCo, CCo, SnFrB, SCo, PR

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.