An attractive perennial palnt with tall spikes of pink flowers. It can be found growing wild in many areas of North America and Europe in damp grassland.
Propagation is by seed or by division from established plants in autumn.
Harvest rhizomes in autumn and dry for decoctions, infusions, liquid extracts, powders and tinctures. The names of Easter giant and Easter mangiant are both corruptions of mangeant , relating to the leaves as a seasonal dish. The name passions, is not suggestive of any aphrodisiac properties, but is a repeated assertion of the seasonal value of the herb Passiontide. Polygonum is from the Greek polys many, and gonu joint, descriptive of the zigzag stem pattern of the genus, which is many-jointed. The specific name, bistorta , derives from bis twice and toprta twisted, in this instance descriptive of the doubly bent or S-shaped roots.