Here is the Water Pepper, Persicaria hydropiper, formerly polygonum hydropiper. It is also know as marshpepper knotweed, arse smart or tade and are annual plants. They are native and naturalized to Australia, New Zealand, temperate Asia, Europe and North America. It is a erect stem growing to a height of 20 to 70 cm (8 to 28 in). The leaves are alternate and almost stalkless. The leaf blades are narrowly ovate and have entire margins fringed by very short hairs. They are tapering with a blunt apex. Each leaf base has stipules which are fused into a stem-enclosing sheath that is loose and fringed at the upper end. The inflorescence is a nodding spike. The perianth of each tiny flower consists of four or five segments, united near its green base and white or pink at the edges. There are six stamens, three fused carpels and three styles. The fruit is a dark brown oval, flattened nut. Water pepper is eaten in Japan, where it is known as tade (蓼), or more specifically, yanagi tade (柳蓼). The leaves are used as a vegetable, but only from the cultivar, not the wild type which has a far more pungent taste. The herb is usually sold in markets as seedlings. Young red sprouts are known as beni-tade (紅蓼), and are used to garnish sashimi, tempura, and sushi. It is popular for summer cooking. Open pollinated and collected in the wild, mid to late season 60 to 95 days.
PLEASE NOTE: Seeds are almost microscopic, so seed count is approximate and may be more or less then 50
Water Pepper, Persicaria hydropiper
50 seeds


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