Common names:
Black bindweed, wild buckwheat
Family:
Scientific name:
Fallopia convolvulus
Synonym:
Polygonum convolvulus
Main flower color:
Range:
All across the UK, except the Scottish Highlands
Height:
Stems are up to 150 cm long; creeping, prostrate or climbing
Habitat:
Fields, verges, hedgebanks, waste and disturbed ground
Flowers:
Greenish-pink, on very short stalks; three outer sepals, two smaller inner sepals and five stamens. Flowers are arranged in dense, vertical spikes
Fruit:
Small capsules (one seed), lined by the three residual outer sepals
Leaves:
Alternate, arrow-shaped to ovate, up to 6 cm long, with a mealy coating
Season:
July to October
Rarity:
★★★★★