Smartweed is a member of the buckwheat family that thrives in moist situations. This is an annual that grows across the United States and southern Canada. It does avoid the extreme Southern states. Stems range from six inches to several feet in length. Leaves are narrow, from one to four inches in length and tinged on top with purple. They have a peppery taste and a short stem with stipules that are fused into a cylindrical sheath. Flowering spikes are erect, dense and from one-half to two inches in length. The tiny flowers are pink with five obtuse lobes.