Plant · GBIF taxon 6391194
Spotted Lady's Thumb
Persicaria maculosaAlso known as Lady's Thumb, Jesusplant, Redshank, Heartweed
Spotted lady's thumb produces dense, cylindrical spikes of tiny pinkish-white blossoms that bloom throughout summer and early autumn. Its lance-shaped leaves carry a distinctive dark brownish or purple smudge near the center, resembling a bold thumbprint. Highly adaptable to damp, disturbed ground, this leafy annual rapidly colonizes garden beds, roadside ditches, and cultivated farm fields.
FloweringWeedyPink Flowers
—observations
—countries
—peak records
Least ConcernConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXLeast ConcernRed List categories, explained →
Diet & prey
- Autotrophic
Predators
- Caterpillars
- Aphids
- Flea beetles
ThreatsHerbicide applications, manual weeding
HabitatsDisturbed soil, agricultural fields, damp roadsides, garden beds
Life span1 year (annual)
Size / weightNot available
Classification
- OrderCaryophyllales
- FamilyPolygonaceae
- GenusPersicaria
- SpeciesPersicaria maculosa
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Wild plants have toxic look-alikes; never eat based on app identification alone.
Responsible observation
- Leaf Blotches: Look for a dark, smudge-like purple spot near the center of each leaf.
- Ocrea Sheath: Examine the fringe of fine hairs topping the sheath around the leaf joints.
- Habitat Spotting: Search in moist, freshly turned garden soil, ditches, and field margins.
Close Relative (c) Sandy Wolkenberg, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Sandy Wolkenberg · cc-by
Close Relative Show_ryu / CC BY-SA 3.0 · cc-by-sa
Close Relative (c) Kevin Krebs, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Kevin Krebs · cc-by
Family Member (c) Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · cc-by-sa
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