Polygonum delopyrum
species of plant

Polygonum delopyrum (synonym Polygonella ciliata), the fringed jointweed or hairy jointweed, is a plant species endemic to Florida. It is found in pinelands and sandy pine barrens at elevations less than 50 m, in central and southern parts of the state.
Polygonum delopyrum is an annual herb up to 110 cm tall, branching above the base. Leaves are narrow and linear, up to 5 cm long, with cilia (long flexible hairs) along the margins. Inflorescence is up to 45 mm long. Flowers are white, some hermaphroditic (male and female together) but others pistillate (female only). Achenes are brown, triangular in cross-section, up to 4 mm long.
Taxonomy
The species was first described in 1856 by Carl Meissner as Polygonella ciliata. It was later placed in the genus Polygonella (under the name Polygonella ciliata) by John Kunkel Small, but in 2015, following a series of molecular phylogenetic studies, this genus was subsumed into Polygonum. However, the name "Polygonum ciliata" had already been used, so the replacement name Polygonum delopyrum was published.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of plant. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 5, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q42710302. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1856 and 2015.
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This entry incorporates text from “Polygonum delopyrum” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.