Participant Info

Species

Bistorta bistortoides [Polygonum bistortoides]

Family

Polygonaceae

CommonName

American bistort, smokeweek, mountain meadow knotweed

Presence

YES

Status

native

EarliestDate

1900

LatestDate

2018

Ecosystem

montane, subalpine, tundra

Geobotanical

SSawatch, Garitas, SSanjuans, NCristos

Counties

Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Hinsdale, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache, Archuleta, San Juan

Passes

Cumbres, Elwood, Grayback, Music, South, Stony, Wolf Creek

WildlifePreserves

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

YES Rich Haswell: Rio Grande Co, saddle between Poison Mountain and Bennett Peak 19 June 2017

Comments

In all mountain ranges of the Valley, American bistort is very common in subalpine and alpine wet meadows, typically on flats or gentle slopes, sometimes in large patches. Bistorta bistortoides grows in all USA states west of the Great Plains, and extends down the Rio Grande drainage about a third of the way into New Mexico.

Annotation