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Heteranthera reniformis

(Kidneyleaf Mud-Plantain)

Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Kidneyleaf Mud-Plantain, Kidneyleaf Mudplantain, Mud Plantain

Description

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Family Pontederiaceae

Herbs annual or perennial , aquatic , floating or rooting in substrate. Roots fibrous . Vegetative stems short or creeping , thick. Leaves rosulate or distributed along stem, distichous; petiole mostly distinct , sometimes inflated ; leaf sheath usually present; leaf blade emersed or submersed , broadly ovate , lanceolate, or broadly linear , sometimes completely reduced, stomata paracytic . Flowering stems erect , solid, terminating in a leaf, spathe , and inflorescence. Inflorescences paniculate , racemose, spicate , umbellate , or 1-flowered, subtended by a spathelike or tubular leaf sheath; bracts minute or absent. Flowers bisexual , mostly actinomorphic , sometimes zygomorphic. Perianth segments 6, in 2 whorls, petaloid , free or basally connate into a tube . Stamens usually 6 in 2 whorls, rarely 3 or 1, inserted on perianth, often unequal or dissimilar; filaments slender, free; anthers 2-loculed, introrse , dehiscing by longitudinal slits or rarely by pores ; pollen grains 2- or 3-nucleate, colpi 1 or 2(or 3), distal or subequatorial. Ovary superior, 3-loculed and placentation axile or 1-loculed and placentation parietal; ovules numerous per locule or 1 and pendulous, anatropous . Style 1; stigma capitate or minutely 3-lobed. Fruit a 3-valved capsule or indehiscent. Seeds small, longitudinally ribbed or smooth ; endosperm copious , mealy ; embryo central in seed, straight, terete .

Six genera and ca. 40 species: widespread in tropical and subtropical regions; two genera (one introduced ) and five species (one introduced) in China.[1]

Genus Heteranthera

Herbs, annual or perennial , rooting in mud . Vegetative stems submersed and growing to surface, or emersed and procumbent or short. Flowering stems submersed and growing to water surface, or emersed. Sessile leaves submersed, forming basal rosette, or emersed on elongate stem; blade linear or sometimes oblanceolate , apex acuminate to obtuse . Petiolate leaves floating or emersed; blade reniform, cordate, or oblong , membranous, apex acute to obtuse. Inflorescences spicate or solitary, 1-30-flowered, elongating over 1-several days; spathes folded or clasping , with acute to caudate apex, or rarely expanded leaflike extension . Flowers: individuals open 1 day only; perianth with tepals connate 1/2 or more of its length , yellow, blue-mauve, mauve , or white, tubular or salverform , limb lobes linear to oblanceolate or narrowly elliptic , shorter than 2 cm, apex obtuse to acuminate; stamens 3, unequal, 2 lateral ones usually shorter; filaments yellow or purple, inflated in some species, glabrous , glandular-pubescent , or pilose ; anthers yellow or purple, rounded , oblong, or sagittate ; ovary incompletely 3-locular; ovules 10-many; style 3-lobed. Fruits capsular , elongate. Seeds 10-200, ovoid , testa with longitudinal wings.

Species 12: Western Hemisphere, Africa[2]

Physical Description

Species Heteranthera reniformis

Plants annual or facultatively perennial . Vegetative stems submersed with elongate internodes, or emersed and procumbent . Flowering stems 1-9 cm, distal internode 0.5-4 cm. Sessile leaves forming basal rosette, blade linear to oblanceolate , thin, 2.4-3.7 cm × 3-8 mm. Petiolate leaves floating or emersed; stipule 1-5 cm; petiole 2-13 cm; blade reniform , 1-4 × 1-5 cm, length equal to or less than width , apex obtuse . Inflorescences spicate , 2-8-flowered, elongating in 1 day, usually shorter than spathes , terminal flower sometimes extending beyond spathe apex; spathes 0.8-5.5 cm, glabrous ; peduncle 0.5-4.2 cm, glabrous. Flowers opening ca. 3 hours after sunrise, wilting by early afternoon; perianth white, salverform , tube 5-10 mm, limbs zygomorphic, lobes narrowly elliptic , 3-6.5 mm, distal central lobe with yellow or green region at base , sometimes with distal brown spot; stamens unequal, lateral stamens 0.9-2.2 mm, filaments linear, pubescent with white multicellular hairs toward apex; central stamen 2.2-4.7 mm, filament sparsely pubescent with multicellular hairs; style pubescent with multicellular hairs. Seeds 8-14-winged, 0.5-0.9 × 0.3-0.5 mm. 2n = 48. [source]

Habit: Forb/herb

Flowers: Bloom Period: June, July, August, September, October.

Habitat

Roadside ditches, edges of streams and ponds , freshwater tidal mudflats ; 0--2600 m [3].

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 4,653 meters (0 to 15,266 feet).[4]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Taxonomy

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Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. Heterandra reniformis Ruiz & Pavón Palisot De Beauvois


Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Heteranthera

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 35 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

H. acuta · H. alismoides · H. callaefolia · H. callifolia · H. cordata · H. diversifolia · H. dubia (Grass-Leaf Mud-Plantain) · H. dubia f. terrestre · H. formosa · H. graminea · H. grandiflora · H. hydrocleifolia · H. kotschyana · H. liebmannii · H. limosa (White Mud-Plantain) · H. limosa f. albiflora · H. limosa rotundifolia (Roundleaf Mudplantain) · H. limosa var. oblongifolia (Blue Mud-Plantain) · H. limosa var. rotundifolia (Blue Mud-Plantain) · H. mexicana (Mexican Mudplantain) · H. multiflora (Multiflowered Mud-Plantain) · H. oblongifolia · H. osteniana · H. peduncularis (Egret Mudplantain) · H. potamogeton · H. pubescens · H. reniformis (Kidneyleaf Mud-Plantain) · H. reniformis var. conjungens · H. reniformis var. peduncularis · H. rotundifolia (Roundleaf Mudplantain) · H. seubertiana · H. spicata · H. virginicus · H. zosteraefolia · H. zosterifolia (Stargrass)

More Info

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Further Reading

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  • Wu Kuo-fang. 1997. Pontederiaceae. In: Wu Kuo-fang, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 13(3): 134--141.
  • Horn, C. N. 1988. Developmental heterophylly in the genus Heteranthera (Pontederiaceae). Aquatic Bot. 31: 197-209.

    • Notes

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    Contributors

    Data Sources

    Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 21, 2007:

    Identifiers

    Footnotes

    1. Guofang Wu & Charles N. Horn "Pontederiaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 40. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
    2. "Heteranthera". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 37, 41, 42. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
    3. "Heteranthera reniformis". in Flora of North America Vol. 26 Page 42, 43. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
    4. Mean = 346.300 meters (1,136.155 feet), Standard Deviation = 594.480 based on 525 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
    Last Revised: 2009-09-02