Species of Koenigia are annual or perennial herbaceous plants, growing from taproots.

Koenigia is placed in the subfamily Polygonoideae, tribe Persicarieae, whose taxonomic history has been described as "exceptionally convoluted, even by Polygonaceae standards".

An earlier study had reached a similar conclusion, and had suggested that extra genera be created to maintain monophyletic taxa.

[3] The authors of the 2015 study preferred the alternative of merging the two genera,[2] a proposal accepted by other sources.

[1] Using broad circumscriptions of the genera, the 2015 study suggested that relationships within the tribe Persicarieae were:[2] Persicaria (comprising sections Echinocaulon, Tovara and Cephalophilon) Bistorta Koenigia (including Aconogonon) As of February 2019[update], Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:[1] Koenigia species are found in meadows, along stream banks, or on rocky slopes in arctic, temperate and alpine regions of the Northern Hemisphere.