Stalking the Wild Knotweed

This past week I was in Washington state, and had the opportunity to go out knotweed hunting in Seattle with freelance botanist Peter Zika (Thanks Peter!). There seem to be many more hybrid stands (Fallopia x bohemica) - obvious crosses between Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) and giant knotweed (Fallopia sachalinense) - in Seattle than in Massachusetts. It was also easier to find the spectacularly-leaved giant knotweed there (pictured below), though both it and Japanese knotweed were nowhere near as common as their hybrid offspring.