- Author: Lynn M. Sosnoskie
Published on: November 25, 2018
Recently I was asked to help identify prostrate knotweed (Polygonum aviculare) that was collected from an alfalfa field. Admittedly, the tough and wire-like specimen that was submitted to me at the end of autumn didn't much resemble the succulent seedlings that I have often observed emerging in tree and vine systems in early spring. Consequently, I dug out my 'Weeds of the West' and 'Weeds of California and Other Western States' books and double-checked with colleagues to ensure that my ID was accurate. This post is meant to build on that effort and describe the morphological traits that are characteristic of prostrate knotweed and how to differentiate the species from a similar-looking weed, spotted spurge (Euphorbia...
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Tags: prostrate knotweed (1), spurge (1), weed biology (13), weed ecology (10), weed ID (23), weed identification (16)
Focus Area Tags: Agriculture, Pest Management
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