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Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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Plant · P-713
Erect Knotweed
Polygonum erectum
Erect Knotweed is a native annual grain plant whose small hard seeds were once a staple crop across eastern North America, gathered and cultivated from about 1000 BC until maize displaced it. The domesticated large-seeded form no longer exists anywhere, so growing it today means starting from the same wild-type seed its ancient farmers worked with. Planted alongside goosefoot rather than alone, the pair produced trial yields that beat quinoa and buckwheat and matched traditionally grown maize. Its seed comes in two forms that germinate unevenly across a full year, so a stand raised from wild seed comes up ragged, with volunteers appearing well after the first sowing.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 3–9
- Soil
- Sand
- Moisture
- Dry · Moderate · Moist
Vertical layer
Herbaceous- Soil pH
- Not yet recorded
- Plant type
- Annual
- Mature height
- 6–30 in
- Mature spread
- Not yet recorded
- Plant spacing
- 10–20 in
- Root type
- Not yet recorded
- Spread pattern
- Seed
Keep exploring
Similar plants
Discover more plants with shared forest layers or growing conditions.
Adzuki Bean
Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi & H.Ohashi
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African Eggplant
Solanum aethiopicum
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Herbaceous · USDA 8–12
Agrimony
Agrimonia eupatoria
Agrimony is a slender herbaceous perennial of sunny, disturbed ground across Europe and western Asia, grown mainly for the tannin-rich leaves…
Herbaceous · USDA 5–9
Alfalfa
Medicago sativa
Alfalfa is a deep-rooted perennial legume grown worldwide as one of the richest forage crops available, its taproot running six metres or…
Herbaceous · USDA 4–11
Alsike Clover
Trifolium hybridum
Alsike Clover fixes nitrogen in wet, acid ground too cold and heavy for red clover to thrive in, and its flowers keep bees working all season…
Herbaceous · USDA 5–9
Amaranth Greens
Amaranthus tricolor
Amaranth greens are one of the few leafy vegetables actually built for peak summer heat rather than one that just tolerates it - sown once…
Herbaceous · USDA 2–11
The deeper layer
Plan what comes next.
- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
- Locked ecological function
- Byproduct
- Locked ecological function
Behind the record
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