About Polygonum bidwelliae S.Watson
Polygonum bidwelliae is an annual herb. It produces an erect, green, wiry, angled stem that grows up to 20 centimeters (8 inches) in height. Its narrow, pointed leaves are arranged oppositely along the stem, occurring mostly on the upper portions of the stem branches. The leaves have relatively large stipules that form ochrea which sheath the stem, sometimes hiding the leaf bases. These sharp-pointed stipules are membranous and silvery white. Bright pink flowers grow in the upper leaf axils.
Polygonum bidwelliae is endemic to California. It is only found in the northern Sacramento Valley and the adjacent slopes of the southernmost Cascade Range, within Butte, Shasta, and Tehama Counties. It grows in chaparral, woodland, and grassland habitats on volcanic soils.
