As in this example, there are usually dark blotches, often shaped rather like arrowheads, on the leaves of this annual plant. The stems are sometimes, but far from always, flushed with red - hence the common name.Growing in tightly-packed elongated ellipsoidal groups, the tiny flowers of Persicaria maculosa are pale pink, but while in bud they are a much deeper pink. The perianth (the corolla of infertile structures around the reproductive parts) of each tiny pink flower consists of four or five petal-like lobes that are fused near to the base. Within the perianth are six white stamens, two fused carpels and two styles.
