Fallopia japonica typical to see much smaller plants in places where they sprout through cracks in the pavement or are repeatedly cut down. The leaves are broad oval with a truncated base, long and broad, with an entire margin. The flowers are small, cream or white, produced in erect racemes long in late summer and early autumn. Closely related species include giant knotweed ("Fallopia sachalinensis", syn. "Polygonum sachalinense") and Russian vine ("Fallopia baldschuanica", "Polygonum baldschuanicum"). Other English names for Japanese knotweed include fleeceflower, Himalayan fleece vine, monkeyweed, monkey fungus, Hancock's curse, elephant ears, pea shooters, donkey rhubarb (although it is not a
Plant–fungus horizontal gene transfer overlapping ecological niches and associations like parasitism or symbiosis. Ecological association can facilitate horizontal gene transfer in plants and fungi and is an unstudied factor in shared evolutionary histories. Most horizontal gene transfers from fungi into plants predate the rise of land plants. A greater genomic inventory of gene family and taxon sampling has been identified as a desirable prerequisite for identifying further plant–fungus events. Evidence for gene transfer between fungi and eukaryotes is discovered indirectly. Evidence is found in the unusual features of genetic elements. These features include: inconsistency between phylogeny across genetic elements, high DNA or amino acid