Prince's-feather
Persicaria orientalis
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in barnyards, disturbed areas, garden edges. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- 4–7 feet
- Spread
- 2–4 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- June to November
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County records are not available.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
43CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Polygonum
- Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
- Acronicta insularisHenry's Marsh Moth, Cattail Caterpillar
- Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
- Anticlea multiferataMany-Lined Carpet
- Apantesis argeArge Tiger Moth
- Apantesis naisNais Tiger Moth
- Archips semiferanusOak Leafroller Moth
- Calothysanis amaturariaCross-Lined Wave
- Chionodes discoocellellaEyeringed Chionodes
- Costaconvexa centrostrigariaBent-Lined Carpet
Show all 43
- Dypterygia rozmaniAmerican Bird's-Wing
- Elophila icciusalisPondside Pyralid, Pondside Crambid
- Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
- Emmelina monodactylaMorning-Glory Plume Moth
- Epiblema otiosanaBidens Borer Moth
- Eusarca confusariaConfused Eusarca
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Haematopis gratariaChickweed Geometer
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Homophoberia apicosaBlack Wedge-Spot, Smartweed Groundling
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Maliattha synochitisBlack-Dotted Lithacodia, Black-Dotted Glyph, Brass-Dotted Grass Moth
- Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
- Melanolophia canadariaCanadian Melanolphia, Variable Redmarked Looper
- Metarranthis duariaRuddy Metarranthis
- Nephelodes miniansBronzed Cutworm
- Nomophila nearcticaLucerne Moth, American Celery Webworm
- Orthonama obstipataThe Gem
- Ostrinia obumbratalisSmartweed Borer
- Ostrinia penitalisAmerican Lotus Borer, Lily Moth
- Parapoynx obscuralisObscure Pondweed Moth
- Patania silicalisHerbivorous Patania, Herbivorous Pleuroptya
- Prochoerodes lineolaLarge Maple Spanworm Moth
- Pseudeustrotia carneolaPink-Barred Lithacodia, Pink-Barred Pseudeustrotia
- Pyrrhia exprimensPurple-Lined Sallow, Purple-Lined Sun Moth
- Saucrobotys futilalisDogbane Saucrobotys
- Schinia spinosaeSpinose Flower Moth
- Scopula limboundataLarge Lace-Border
- Spilosoma congruaAgreeable Tiger Moth
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
- Tharsalea hyllusBronze Copper
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
58BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Polygonum
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Aix sponsaWood Duck
- Alectoris chukarChukar
- Anas acutaNorthern Pintail
- Anas creccaGreen-winged Teal
- Anas platyrhynchosMallard
- Anser albifronsGreater White-fronted Goose
- Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
- Aythya affinisLesser Scaup
- Aythya americanaRedhead
Show all 58
- Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
- Aythya valisineriaCanvasback
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
- Bucephala clangulaCommon Goldeneye
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Centrocercus urophasianusGreater Sage-Grouse
- Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
- Columba liviaRock Pigeon
- Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
- Coturnicops noveboracensisYellow Rail
- Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
- Dendrocygna autumnalisBlack-bellied Whistling-Duck
- Dolichonyx oryzivorusBobolink
- Eremophila alpestrisHorned Lark
- Euphagus cyanocephalusBrewer's Blackbird
- Francolinus francolinusBlack Francolin
- Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
- Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
- Haemorhous mexicanusHouse Finch
- Junco hyemalisDark-eyed Junco
- Lagopus lagopusWillow Ptarmigan
- Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
- Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Oreortyx pictusMountain Quail
- Oxyura jamaicensisRuddy Duck
- Passer domesticusHouse Sparrow
- Perdix perdixGray Partridge
- Pheucticus melanocephalusBlack-headed Grosbeak
- Pinicola enucleatorPine Grosbeak
- Pipilo maculatusSpotted Towhee
- Porzana carolinaSora
- Quiscalus quisculaCommon Grackle
- Rallus elegansKing Rail
- Rallus limicolaVirginia Rail
- Sialia mexicanaWestern Bluebird
- Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
- Spinus psaltriaLesser Goldfinch
- Spizella passerinaChipping Sparrow
- Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
- Tympanuchus phasianellusSharp-tailed Grouse
- Vireo griseusWhite-eyed Vireo
- Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
- Zonotrichia atricapillaGolden-crowned Sparrow
- Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Polygonaceae
- Flower color
- Pink
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Pink” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “4–7 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers differs)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- primary_flower_color · “pink” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “2–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Polygonum orientale; Prince's feather; knotweed
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications