Curlytop Knotweed vs Hairy Knotweed

Persicaria lapathifolia compared with Persicaria attenuata

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Curlytop Knotweed	Hairy Knotweed
Kingdom same	Plantae (plantas)	Plantae (plantas)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order same	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)
Family same	Polygonaceae	Polygonaceae
Genus same	Persicaria	Persicaria
Species	Persicaria lapathifolia	Persicaria attenuata

Evolutionary Relationship

Curlytop Knotweed and Hairy Knotweed share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Persicaria.

Conservation Status

Curlytop Knotweed

LC — Least Concern

Hairy Knotweed

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Curlytop Knotweed	Hairy Knotweed
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Curlytop Knotweed

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and deserts and xeric shrublands spanning the Australasia and Afrotropic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Madagascar, Namibia, South Africa), Europe (10 countries), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Papua New Guinea), and South America (Brazil).

Hairy Knotweed

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found in South Africa.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇿🇦 South Africa