A cosmopolitan family containing some 1000 herbs, shrubs, climbers and a few trees. The base of each leaf forms a sheath around the stem. The flowers are small, but when crowded together in racemes, may be showy. In Western Australia there are 22 native species and 19 naturalised ones. Antigonon leptopus (coral vine) is a perennial vine, climbing by means of small tendrils. It produces heart-shaped leaves and sprays of small pink flowers in summer. It can sucker, and is a garden escape in creeklines on Koolan Island. A native of Mexico. Emex australis(doublegee, three-cornered jack, spiny emex) DP, PP is a hairless annual, usually prostrate but can grow taller if among other plants. It has ovate leaves and green flowers in clusters in the leaf axils, flowering in winter. The woody fruit has three rigid spines, well adapted for sticking into anything. A widespread agricultural and wasteland weed throughout the south-west. Doublegee was introduced from South Africa as a salad vegetable, and probably also unintentionally in hay. E. spinosa DP is very similar to doublegee but with fruits and spines half the size. It is an uncommon agricultural weed at a few sites in the northern wheatbelt and is native to the Mediterranean and North Africa.
Emex
australis, RR
Fallopia
convolvulus(was
Polygonum
convolvulus)
(black bindweed, climbing buckwheat) is an annual twiner
with heart shaped leaves. The flowers are greenish pink, in
loose sprays in the axils of the leaves. A garden escape,
occurring on wasteland around settlements and occasionally
as a crop weed in the Esperance area. A cosmopolitan
weed.Muehlenbeckia
complexa(maidenhair
creeper, wire vine) is a vine with strongly rooting and
densely intertwining stems. The roughly circular leaves are
1cm across and the white, strongly scented flowers are borne
in small clusters, followed by shining black fruits. A
garden escape found on road verges near Bunbury. Native to
New Zealand. A native species,
M.
adpressa
(climbing lignum), is a twining, rhizomatous perennial with
ovate leaves and sprays of small yellow-green flowers in
spring and early summer. It is widespread throughout the
south-west from Geraldton to Menzies and Israelite Bay. It
regenerates well in paddocks after clearing, persisting
through several cropping cycles, and thus may be considered
as a weed.
Persicaria
(knotweeds) are sometimes included in the genus
Polygonum.
P. capitata(persicaria)is a sprawling, reddish perennial with
ovate leaves, prominently marked with a darker inverted 'V'.
Pink flowers are produced in dense globular spikes in early
summer. A garden escape found on wasteland from Manjimup to
Albany. Native of Asia. P.
maculosa
(was Polygonum persicaria) (redshank) has
elliptic leaves having a few hairs on the margins and
usually a reddish blotch halfway along their length. It is
prostrate at first but then grows upright. Stems are up to
80cm long, round in cross section, usually reddish and
hairless. It has small pink or whitish flowers in dense
spikes, produced in spring. A weed of horticulture and
crops, potentially serious if it becomes established in
Western Australia. Native to Europe.
Persicaria
maculosa
, RR
Polygonum arenastrum(sand wireweed) is a mat-forming annual, with small elliptical leaves and clusters of small pink flowers in their axils. It flowers in late autumn and winter. Grows in wasteland throughout the south-west. A cosmopolitan weed. P. aviculare(wireweed) is a sometimes erect, but mostly sprawling annual or short-lived perennial with a thick taproot. It has lanceolate leaves with clusters of small pink flowers in their axils. It is easily distinguished from sand wireweed, since it grows and flowers in summer. Throughout the south-west in paddocks and wastelands. A cosmopolitan weed of European origin. P. bellardii is an erect annual or biennial to 100 cm. This species is causing some concern in the Albany area as it appears to be spreading. The erect habit makes it easy to distinguish from other Polygonum species. Native of central and southern Europe.
Polygonum
aviculare, RR
Rumex(docks) PP are annuals or perennials with stout taproots. They have opposite, entire leaves and small, green or reddish flowers in long racemes or panicles. The fruit is the best way of telling the speciesapart. It is a triangular nut enclosed in three bracts (valves), which may have wart-like swellings called tubercles.
Rumex fruits, MM
R. acetosella(alsoknown as Acetosella vulgaris)(sorrel, sheep's sorrel) PP is easy to distinguish as it is much less robust than other docks. It is an erect, slender, rhizomatous perennial to 50cm, often completely reddish. The leaves are arrow-shaped with distinct basal lobes. It is a common weed of pastures, roadsides, disturbed wetlands, woodlands, creeks and granite slopes from Moora to Esperance. Native of Europe and Asia.
Rumex acetosella, RR
R.
brownii(swamp
dock) is a perennial to 1m tall, with oblong leaves and
flowers in whorls on an open branched inflorescence. The
valves have three to five hooked teeth on each side. It is a
weed of disturbed ground from Perth to Jerramungup.
Introduced from eastern Australia. R.
bucephalophorus is
a small annual to 20cm, with a basal rosette of ovate or
spoon-shaped leaves. The fruits are red, recurved and the
valves toothed.Weed of wasteland and verges, Busselton to
Albany.
R.
conglomeratus(clustered dock) is a branched perennial to 80cm, often with
zigzag stems. The leaves are oblong with heart-shaped bases.
The flowers are in leafy, much-branched inflorescences. The
valves are oval, smooth, each with a swollen tubercle. A
weed of disturbed wetlands and creeks from Moora to Albany.
Native to Europe and Asia.
R.
bucephalophorus, GK
R.
crispus(curled
dock) is an erect perennial to 1.5m with narrow-lanceolate
leaves with wavy margins. The flowers are in dense, erect,
branched spikes. The fruit valves are heart-shaped,
untoothed, and each has a swollen tubercle. A weed of
disturbed wetlands, creeks and occasionally paddocks from
Geraldton to Esperance. Native to Europe and Asia.
R.
frutescens(Argentine
dock) is a creeping, rhizomatous perennial with erect,
branched stems, and thick, oblong, wavy-edged leaves. The
flowers are crowded in leafless inflorescences and the fruit
valves are triangular, untoothed, with small tubercles. A
weed of coastal granite seepages from Walpole to Albany.
Native to South America.
R.
crispus, PH
R. obtusifolius(broadleaf dock) is an erect perennial to 1m with oblong leaves with a heart-shaped base and are slightly hairy on the lower surface. The fruit valves are triangular with three marginal teeth and often only one swollen tubercle. A weed of paddocks, drains and disturbed wetlands from Manjimup to Albany. Native to Europe.
R.
crispus fruits, RR
R. pulcher(fiddle dock) is a strongly branched perennial to 50cm. The leaves are oblong and slightly fleshy with the flowers on widely-spreading leafy spikes. The fruit valves are triangular with unevenly swollen tubercles and margins with several short teeth. A common weed of pastures, waterways and wasteland from Gingin to Albany. Native to the Mediterranean.
R. pulcher, GK
R. vesicarius(also known as Acetosa vesicaria)(ruby dock, rosy dock) is so common along roadsides and in disturbed areas in the arid zone that it is often mistaken for a native. It is a stout, fleshy annual to 80cm with broadly triangular leaves and inconspicuous flowers. The fruit valves are inflated, pinkish red and up to 2cm in size. A common, widespread arid zone weed, found in a variety of disturbed situations from the Pilbara to the Nullarbor. Also found in the wheatbelt. Native to North Africa, the Middle East and through to India.
R.
vesicarius, KA
