| Hydrocotyle | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Hydrocotyle bowlesioides | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Apiales |
| Family: | Araliaceae |
| Subfamily: | Hydrocotyloideae |
| Genus: | Hydrocotyle L. [1] [2] [3] |
| Synonyms [4] | |
| |
Hydrocotyle, also called floating pennywort, [5] water pennywort, [6] dollar weed, marsh penny, thick-leaved pennywort and white rot, [7] is a genus of prostrate, perennial [8] aquatic or semi-aquatic plants formerly classified in the family Apiaceae, now in the family Araliaceae. [3]
Water pennyworts, Hydrocotyles, are very common.[ clarification needed ] They have long creeping stems that often form dense mats, often in and near ponds, lakes, rivers, and marshes, [6] and some species in coastal areas by the sea. [9] [10]
There are over 280 species recognised in the genus Hydrocotyle that grow in tropical and temperate regions worldwide. [8] A few species have entered the world of cultivated ornamental aquatics. [12] A list of selected species: [1] [2] [3] [13] [14] [15] [16]
Hydrocotyleae grow in wet and damp places in the tropics and the temperate zones. [8]
One fossil fruit of a Hydrocotyle sp. has been extracted from borehole samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland. [17]