Polygonum sagittatum L.

vernacular arrowleaf tearthumb — species · Polygonaceae

USDA: POSA5
GBIF: 12205018
Rank: species

arrowleaf tearthumb (Polygonum sagittatum) — Platephotograph · Sadie HickeyCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Forb/herb, Vine
Duration: Annual, Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Polygonaceae Juss.
Genus: Polygonum

§2a

Native status, by region

CAN Canada Native
L48 Lower 48 States Native
SPM St. Pierre & Miquelon Native

§2b

County-level range

· 4 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 4 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: Low
Shade: High
Moisture use: Medium
Fire: Low
Salinity: Medium
Anaerobic: Low
CaCO₃: Medium
Hedging: None

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -13 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 110 min.
Precipitation: 40–60 in/yr
pH range: 4–8.5
Root depth: 6 in min.
Fertility need: Medium
Soil texture: coarse, medium, fine

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Single Crown
Growth rate: Rapid
Lifespan: Moderate
Mature height: 1 ft
Foliage texture: Medium
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Porous
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: Red
Fruit colour: Black
Fire resistant: Yes
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Late Spring
Seed abundance: Medium
Seed begins: Spring
Seed ends: Fall
Spread rate: Moderate
Stratify: No
Seeds / lb: 125,000
Propagation: seed

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: Routinely Available
Nursery stock: No
Graze palatability: Low
Palatable, human: No
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 4 counties across 1 state.

Rhode Island view state ↗ 4 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/POSA5 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/12205018 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z