Dotted Smartweed
Persicaria punctata
Found in swamp forests, bottomlands, marshes. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Mississippi (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 1–2.5 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual or perennial
- Bloom
- July to November
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 34 Mississippi counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Mississippi. Shared habitat, not food. 100 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (33)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Bald Eagle
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Chimney Swift
- Common Grackle
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eastern Towhee
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Fish Crow
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Great Horned Owl
- Hooded Merganser
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Osprey
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Turkey Vulture
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-crowned Night-heron
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
42CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · 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
- Coleophora cratipennellaStreaked Coleophora
Show all 42
- Costaconvexa centrostrigariaBent-Lined Carpet
- Dypterygia rozmaniAmerican Bird's-Wing
- 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
- 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
- Saucrobotys futilalisDogbane Saucrobotys
- Schinia scissoidesDivided Flower Moth
- 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
34BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Persicaria
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
14BirdsRecorded eating Persicaria in Mississippi
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Mississippi, most records first.
- SoraSeeds. 12 diet records
- Red-winged BlackbirdSeeds. 4 diet records
- American CootSeeds. 2 diet records
- Northern CardinalOther parts. 2 diet records
- Ring-necked DuckSeeds. 2 diet records
- American Pipit1 diet record
- American RobinFruit. 1 diet record
- American Wigeon1 diet record
- Blue-winged Teal1 diet record
- GadwallSeeds. 1 diet record
Show all 14
- Lapland Longspur1 diet record
- Lesser ScaupSeeds. 1 diet record
- MallardSeeds. 1 diet record
- Swainson's ThrushFruit and seeds. 1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Birds that eat Persicaria 14
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- SoraPorzana carolina
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- American CootFulica americana
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- American WigeonAnas americana
- Blue-winged TealAnas discors
- GadwallAnas strepera
- Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Swainson's ThrushCatharus ustulatus
Plant details
- Family
- Polygonaceae
- Flower color
- White or green
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White or green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “1–2.5 feet” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Life cycle · “Annual or perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Polygonum punctatum; Polygonum punctatum var. confertiflorum; Polygonum punctatum var. punctatum; knotweed
Conservation status
| Mississippi rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| MS status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Mississippi 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