Polygonum orientale is an annual herb to 2.5 m, erect, branching, softly hairy; leaf sheaths hairy, often with a herbaceous flange-like border.
Leaves alternate, egg-shaped, tip long-pointed, base broad, round to lobed, long-stalked.
Flowers red to dark pink; inflorescences showy clusters of large, dense racemes, drooping, to 8 cm long; blooming and fruiting June-Oct. (Hough 1983).
Fruit dry (achenes), flat, lens-shaped.
Wetland status: FACU-.
Frequency in NYC: Very infrequent.
Origin: India.
Habitat: Escaped from cultivation into open, disturbed areas. Invasive in some states (USDA, NRCS 2006).