In 1753 Linnaeus named this genus "Polygonum" from a newly collected specimen that came to be known as Polygonum officinalis.   The genus was renamed Bistorta in 1754 by physician and naturalist, Giovanni Scopoli (1723-1788). 

    A Utah Flora accept Scopoli's Polygonum designation; Synthesis of North American Flora, the Flora of North America, and Colorado Flora accept Bistorta as the name of the genus..  

    "Bi" Latin for "twice", and "torta", "twisted", refer to the contorted rhizome roots in some species. 

Subalpine, alpine. Meadows, wetlands. Summer.
Winter Trail Head, June 27, 2000.

This white-topped Buckwheat is abundant in high mountain and alpine areas, sometimes being so thick that it gives a snowy appearance to meadows.  The soft cottony flower head often has a blush of pink, but as delicate and appealing looking as the flowers are, do not be fooled; their scent is most often quite unpleasant.  One common name for the plant is "Miner's Toes"!  Partially red stems and leaves are characteristic, and the reds become more pronounced in the fall.  Typical plants are twelve to eighteen inches tall but it is common to find plants two feet tall.

Frederick Pursh named this species Polygonum bistortoides in his 1814 Flora Americae Septentrionalis; John Kunkel Small (1869-1938) renamed it Bistorta bistortoides in 1906.

Subalpine, alpine. Meadows, wetlands. Summer.
Pass Creek Trail, July 19, 2007.

Leaves have distinctive venation and a sheath encloses the stem below each bulging leaf node.

Subalpine, alpine. Meadows, openings, tundra. Summer.
Sharkstooth Trail, July 30, 2004.

This is a miniature of the much taller, more conspicuous, and more abundant Bistorta bistortoides.  It grows in scattered colonies in open, grassy areas.  Its very unusual structure makes it well worth bending for. "Vivipara" is Latin for "brings forth alive",  and a viviparous plant asexually produces plants genetically identical to itself as sprouts on itself.  In the case of Bistorta vivipara, bulblets are produced below the tiny flowers.  These fall to the ground and can grow into mature plants.    The more common Bistorta bistortoides is not viviparous.  Human beings are viviparous in the zoological sense: we give birth to live young.  (See also Lithophragma glabrum.)

Linnaeus named this plant Polygonum viviparum in 1753 and Delarbre renamed it Bistorta vivipara in 1800.

Subalpine, alpine. Meadows, openings, tundra. Summer.
American Basin, July 24, 2007.

Young bulblets show below the flowers.

Range map © John Kartesz,
Floristic Synthesis of North America

State Color Key

Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Native species, but adventive in state
Eradicated
Questionable presence

Range map for Bistorta bistortoides

Range map for Bistorta vivipara