The bractlets are overlapping.  Fowers are 2-3.5 mm, bell shaped, and not gland dotted; there are 4-5  pink or rose lobes with rounded tips.  Stamens 4-8, not exserted; anthers yellow or pink.  Styles 2-3 are fused basally. In creekbed at Santiago Park, Santa Ana, CA. 11-20-11. © Joan Avise.

Lady's Thumb

Persicaria (=Polygonum) maculosa (= vulgaris)

EXOTIC, native to Eurasia. Probably of hybrid origin, with Persicaria lapathifolia as one parent (2n=44)(Jepson Manual). An annual; uncommon weed along the Santa Ana River (Roberts). Information here is from Jepson eFlora. 

Polygonaceae; Subfamily Polygonoideae

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In creekbed at Santiago Park, Santa Ana, CA. 11-20-11. © Joan Avise.
Leaf blades are often dark-blotched on the upper side. The leaf ocrea (sheath of stipules around the stem at the base of a leaf) is 5-10 mm, cylindric, light brown with ciliate margin and 2-3.5 mm bristles.  The surface is smooth, not gland-dotted.  In creekbed at Santiago Park, Santa Ana, CA. 11-20-11. © Joan Avise.

The inflorescence spike can be axillary or terminal and is generally erect.  In creekbed at Santiago Park, Santa Ana, CA. 11-20-11. © Joan Avise.
In creekbed at Santiago Park, Santa Ana, CA. 11-20-11. © Joan Avise.

It is a 10-70 cm plant with no rhizomes. In creekbed at Santiago Park, Santa Ana, CA. 11-20-11. © Joan Avise.
In creekbed at Santiago Park, Santa Ana, CA. 11-20-11. © Joan Avise.