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Index / Search / Polygonum hydropiperoides

§1 Plant

Polygonum hydropiperoides Michx.

vernacular swamp smartweed — species · Polygonaceae

USDA
POHY2
GBIF
8147126
Rank
species
swamp smartweed (Polygonum hydropiperoides)
Platephotograph · Sam Wahl source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Forb/herb
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Polygonaceae Juss.
Genus
Polygonum
§2a

Native status, by region

  • AK Alaska Introduced
  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native
  • PR Puerto Rico Native
§2b

County-level range

· 1,171 counties across 36 states/territories
Legend Native · 1171 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Low
Shade
High
Moisture use
Medium
Fire
Medium
Salinity
Low
Anaerobic
High
CaCO₃
High
Hedging
None
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
32 °F minimum
Frost-free days
95 min.
Precipitation
12–50 in/yr
pH range
4.5–8.8
Root depth
10 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
medium, fine
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Single Crown
Growth rate
Slow
Lifespan
Moderate
Foliage texture
Fine
Foliage colour
Dark Green
Porosity (summer)
Porous
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
Green
Fruit colour
Green
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Indeterminate
Seed abundance
Medium
Seed begins
Spring
Seed ends
Summer
Spread rate
Moderate
Stratify
No
Seeds / lb
612,963
Propagation
seed
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
No
Browse palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 1,171 counties across 36 states/territories.

Alabama view state ↗ 35 N ▾
Arkansas view state ↗ 55 N ▾
Delaware view state ↗ 3 N ▾
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Florida view state ↗ 63 N ▾
Georgia view state ↗ 42 N ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 91 N ▾
Indiana view state ↗ 54 N ▾
Iowa view state ↗ 7 N ▾
Kansas view state ↗ 49 N ▾
Kentucky view state ↗ 60 N ▾
Louisiana view state ↗ 61 N ▾
Maine view state ↗ 13 N ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 14 N ▾
Michigan view state ↗ 44 N ▾
Minnesota view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Mississippi view state ↗ 52 N ▾
Missouri view state ↗ 76 N ▾
Nebraska view state ↗ 13 N ▾
New Hampshire view state ↗ 7 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 21 N ▾
New Mexico view state ↗ 1 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 46 N ▾
North Carolina view state ↗ 34 N ▾
North Dakota view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Ohio view state ↗ 56 N ▾
Oklahoma view state ↗ 29 N ▾
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 41 N ▾
Rhode Island view state ↗ 4 N ▾
South Carolina view state ↗ 26 N ▾
South Dakota view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Tennessee view state ↗ 59 N ▾
Vermont view state ↗ 5 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 57 N ▾
West Virginia view state ↗ 31 N ▾
Wisconsin view state ↗ 17 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/POHY2 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/8147126 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T09:28:40Z