Spotted ladysthumb
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated April 2019.
Scientific name: Persicaria maculosa S.F. Gray; also Polygonum persicaria L.
Common name(s): spotted ladysthumb, redleg, gambetta, redshank, lady’s-thumb smartweed
Links: USDA PLANTS Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
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- small plants in wild blueberry field
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- in flower, early September
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- leaf detail showing typical reddish/brownish spot
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- close-up of leaves
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- The ochrea, or membranous “sheath’ on stems
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- ochrea detail
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- senescing plant
Description:
-perennial and annual
-leaves are
- simple
- alternate
- entire
Habitat:
-disturbed areas
-wetlands
-fields
-shores of rivers
-may be confused with P. longiseta or P. pensylvatica; see left sidebar on Go Botany webpage
Natural History:
-The Cherokee crushed the leaves and used it to treat poison ivy
Sources:
“Persicaria Maculosa S.F. Gray.” Persicaria Maculosa (Lady’s-Thumb Smartweed): Go Botany, Native Plant Trust: Go Botany, gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/persicaria/maculosa/.