Taxonomy
Family: Menyanthaceae
Habitat
Quiet water.
Associates
Distribution
Newfoundland and Quebec to Ontario, south to CT and NY, locally along the coastal plain to FL and LA.
Morphology
Rhizomatous aquatic herb; stems often elongate, green, very slender, less than 1 mm thick near the summit; leaves broadly ovate, deeply cordate, 3-7 cm; functionally dioecious, some flowers usually replaced by spur-like tuberous-thickened roots; calyx lobes at anthesis 2-3 mm, in fruit extending well beyond the middle of the capsule; corollas 5-8 mm, white or cream, with a crest-like yellow gland at the base of each lobe; anthers about 1 cm or less; fruit 4-5 mm, not beaked; seeds smooth or sparsely papillate.
Notes
Flowers July to September
Wetland indicator: OBL
Leaves resemble a tiny water lily. A species with larger flowers, N. aquatica (Walter) Kunzte, occurs on the coastal plain from southern NJ to FL and TX.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A.
Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and
Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
Michael Hough © 2018 |