Persicaria

Pinkweed, or Persicaria, Persicaria maculosa.

Persicaria is one of the most widespread and persistent weeds of arable land, also a common plant of gardens and disturbed waste places.

The fruits are rich in starch and were formerly gathered and used as a grain.
They are one of the main foods found in the stomachs of preserved Iron Age people who have been recovered, in a mummified state, from peat bogs in Denmark and other places.

Persicaria has also formerly had uses as a medicinal plant, in treatments for inflammation and urinary infections.

Photographed in Kent in August.

Location: Kent, England.