polygonum

noun

any polygonaceous plant of the genus Polygonum, having stems with knotlike joints and spikes of small white, green, or pink flowersSee also knotgrass, bistort, prince's feather (def. 2)

Word Origin for polygonum

C18: New Latin, from Greek polugonon knotgrass, from polu- poly- + -gonon, from gonu knee

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Examples from the Web for polygonum

It stood beside a small branch or outlet of the river, which led into a hollow of polygonum.
Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Vol 2 (of 2)|Thomas Mitchell
Our path in the afternoon lay near the river over low ground, wooded with box, having an undergrowth of saltbush and polygonum.
Journal of Landsborough's Expedition from Carpentaria|William Landsborough
We encamped on the left bank of the river, amidst a polygonum scrub, in which we found a number of the crested pigeon.
Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia, Complete|Charles Sturt
Lumley went a few paces off to a bed of polygonum, the gloomy leafless bramble of the wilderness.
The Bushranger's Secret|Mrs. Henry Clarke

It feeds in the autumn on dock (Rumex), sorrel (R. acetosa), and knot-grass (Polygonum aviculare).
Butterflies and Moths|William S. Furneaux