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Echinodorus cordifolia

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Description

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Family Alismataceae

Herbs, annual or perennial , rhizomatous , stoloniferous , or cormose, caulescent , glabrous to stellate-pubescent; sap milky . Roots septate or not septate. Leaves basal, submersed , floating, or emersed , sessile or petiolate , sheathing proximally; blade with translucent markings of dots or lines present or absent, basal lobes present or absent; venation reticulate , primary veins parallel from base of blade to apex, secondary veins reticulate. Inflorescences scapose racemes or panicles, rarely umbels, erect , rarely floating or decumbent , whorled (forming racemes) or whorls branching (forming panicles), bracteolate . Flowers bisexual or unisexual , if unisexual, staminate and pistillate on same or different plants , hypogynous, subsessile to long-pedicellate; sepals persistent , 3; petals deciduous, 3, delicate; stamens 0, 6, 9, or to 30, distinct ; anthers 2-loculed, dehiscing longitudinally; pistils 0 or 6--1500 or more, distinct or coherent proximally, 1-loculed; placentation basal; ovules1--2. Fruits achenes or follicles. Seeds: embryo U-shaped; endosperm absent in mature seed.

Genera 12, species ca. 80 (4 genera, 34 species in the flora ) : nearly worldwide, primarily tropical and subtropical regions.[1]

Genus Echinodorus

Plants annual or perennial , emersed , floating-leaved, or rarely submersed , glabrous to stellate-pubescent; rhizomes present or absent; stolons absent; corms absent; tubers absent. Roots not septate . Leaves sessile or petiolate ; petioles triangular, rarely terete ; blade with translucent markings as dots or lines present or absent, linear to lanceolate to ovate , base attenuate to cordate, margins entire or undulating , apex obtuse to acute. Inflorescences racemes or panicles, rarely umbels, of 1--18 whorls, erect or decumbent , emersed; bracts coarse , apex obtuse to acute, surfaces smooth or papillose along veins, apex obtuse to acute. Flowers bisexual , subsessile to pedicellate ; bracts subtending pedicels, subulate to lanceolate, shorter than to longer than pedicels, apex obtuse to acute; pedicels ascending to recurved; receptacle convex ; sepals recurved to spreading , herbaceous to leathery, sculpturing absent; petals white, entire; stamens 9--25; filaments linear, glabrous; pistils 15--250 or more, spirally arranged on convex receptacle, forming head , distinct ; ovules 1; style terminal or lateral . Fruits plump, often longitudinally ribbed , sometimes flattened, rarely abaxially keeled , abaxial wings absent, lateral wings absent, glands often present.

Species 26: Western Hemisphere.[2]

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Alisma cordifolium L.

Notes

Publishing author : Griseb. Basionym author: (L.)

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Echinodorus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 6 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

E. berteroi (Burhead) · E. cordifolius (Burhead) · E. cordifolius 'Marble Queen' (Marble Queen) · E. palaefolius (Mexican Sword-Plant) · E. paniculatus (Amazon Sword Plant) · E. tenellus (Dwarf Burhead)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Robert R. Haynes ,C. Barre Hellquist "Alismataceae". in Flora of North America Vol. 22. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. Guy L. Nesom "Echinodorus". in Flora of North America Vol. 22. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Last Revised: 7/22/2012