Persicaria microcephala

Persicaria microcephala (syn. Polygonum microcephalum), the small-headed knotweed, is a species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae.^[2] It is native to the Himalayas, and central and southern China, and it has been introduced to Great Britain.^[1] Its cultivar 'Red Dragon' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[3]

Persicaria microcephala
At the Missouri Botanical Garden
'Red Dragon' cultivar at RHS Garden Hyde Hall
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Polygonaceae
Genus:	Persicaria
Species:	P. microcephala
Binomial name
Persicaria microcephala (D.Don) H.Gross
Synonyms[1]
List Ampelygonum microcephalum (D.Don) M.A.Hassan Persicaria sphaerocephala (Wall. ex Meisn.) H.Gross Polygonum ciliatum Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don Polygonum microcephalum D.Don Polygonum microcephalum var. sphaerocephalum (Wall. ex Meisn.) Murata Polygonum podocephalum Klotzsch Polygonum sphaerocephalum Wall. ex Meisn. Polygonum staticiflorum Wall. Polygonum wallichii Wight

Subtaxa

The following varieties are accepted:^[1]

• Persicaria microcephala var. microcephala
• Persicaria microcephala var. sphaerocephala (Wall. ex Meisn.) H.Hara