Limnobium laevigatum

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Limnobium laevigatum
Limnobium laevigatum.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Hydrocharitaceae
Genus: Limnobium
Species:
L. laevigatum
Binomial name
Limnobium laevigatum
(Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) Heine

Limnobium laevigatum is a floating aquatic plant, and is a member of the family Hydrocharitaceae. Common names include West Indian spongeplant, [1] South American spongeplant and Amazon or smooth frogbit. This plant was introduced to North American waterways through use in aquariums and aquascapes.

Contents

Plant origin and distribution

Spongeplant originates from fresh water habitats of tropical and subtropical Central and South America. In California it has been introduced as an ornamental pond plant, and has escaped into greater waterways including areas surrounding Redding and Arcata, the Sacramento river delta and the San Joaquin River, and ponds and irrigation canals.[ citation needed ]

It is an invasive species in Chile where it has been found from Elqui River in the north to Carlos Anwandter Nature Sanctuary and Ranco Lake in the south. [2]

Description

Limnobium laevigatum is a floating aquatic plant, which can be mistaken for water hyacinth ( Eichornia crassipes ) due to their superficial similarity. Juvenile plants grow in rosettes of floating leaves that lie prostrate upon the water surface, a distinguishing character of the juvenile plant is the presence of spongy aerenchyma tissue upon the abaxial surface (underside) of the leaf. Mature plants grow up to 50 cm tall, and have emergent leaves borne on petioles that are not swollen or inflated like the spongy leaf stalks of water hyacinth, which aid in buoyancy. Spongeplant produces stolons which bear gametes. Flowers are small, white, and unisexual. Female flowers have an inferior ovary, the fruit is a fleshy capsule 4–13 mm long and 2–5 mm in diameter, and seeds are 1 mm long, ellipsoid, and hairy. Limnobium laevigatum, or Smooth Frogbit can be distinguished from Limnobium spongia , American frogbit, by flower and leaf characteristics as well as range. The flowers of both species vary greatly over their ranges. American frogbit is not known to occur in western states unlike smooth frogbit.[ citation needed ] American frogbit in general has more cordate-based floating leaves, while smooth frogbit generally has more spatulate floating leaves.[ citation needed ]

Plant reproduction

Limnobium laevigatum can reproduce and distribute sexually through flower pollination and seed production, and also vegetatively through fragmentation of stolon segments. The juvenile plants have a great capacity for distribution in that they are small, they float and can be easily and quickly carried along by water currents.[ citation needed ]

Aquascape use

Amazon Frogbit in aquaculture Amazon Frogbit.jpg
Amazon Frogbit in aquaculture

Amazon Frogbit in captivity has two hazards to its health which aquarium owners can avoid: (1) water droplets on the tops of the leaves can rot the plant (they must be kept dry), and (2) some species of aquatic snail appear to like to eat the spongy material on the bottoms of the plant leaves (keep them near the center of the tank, not against the glass on the edges.) [3]

Limnobium management

California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) crews which already manage other invasive aquatic plants including Hydrilla verticillata and Eichhornia crassipes have focused efforts upon Limnobium laevigatum. The CDFA has carried out detection and mapping of spongeplant throughout California, with a focus upon irrigation canals in the San Joaquin valley. Treatments have included mechanical and hand removal and application of appropriate aquatic herbicides including diquat and glyphosate upon remaining plants.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrocharitaceae</span> Family of aquatic plants

Hydrocharitaceae is a flowering plant family including 16 known genera with a total of ca 135 known species, that including a number of species of aquatic plant, for instance the tape-grasses, the well known Canadian waterweed, and frogbit.

<i>Hydrilla</i> Species of plant

Hydrilla (waterthyme) is a genus of aquatic plant, usually treated as containing just one species, Hydrilla verticillata, though some botanists divide it into several species. It is native to the cool and warm waters of the Old World in Asia, Africa and Australia, with a sparse, scattered distribution; in Australia from Northern Territory, Queensland, and New South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stolon</span> Horizontal connections between organisms

In biology, stolons, also known as runners, are horizontal connections between parts of an organism. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal stolons are exoskeletons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elqui River</span> River in northern Chile

The Elqui River starts in the west Andes and flows into the Pacific Ocean near the Chilean city of La Serena. It is a wine and pisco producing area. Vicuña, the main town of the middle valley, was the home of Nobel Laureate poet Gabriela Mistral.

<i>Elodea canadensis</i> Species of aquatic plant

Elodea canadensis is a perennial aquatic plant, or submergent macrophyte, native to most of North America. It has been introduced widely to regions outside its native range and was first recorded from the British Isles in about 1836.

<i>Nymphaea lotus</i> Species of water lily

Nymphaea lotus, the white Egyptian lotus, tiger lotus, white lotus, or Egyptian water-lily, is a flowering plant of the family Nymphaeaceae.

<i>Anubias</i> Genus of flowering plants

Anubias is a genus of aquatic and semi-aquatic flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical central and western Africa. They primarily grow in rivers and streams, but can also be found in marshes. They are characterized by broad, thick, dark leaves that come in many different forms. The genus was revised in 1979 and since then its nomenclature has been stable. Species can be determined by using mostly characteristics of the inflorescence. Because of the often shady places where the plants grow, the genus was named after the Egyptian god Anubis, the god of the afterlife. The genus was first described in 1857 by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott, with A. afzelii as its type species.

<i>Pontederia crassipes</i> Aquatic plant native to the Amazon basin

Pontederia crassipes, commonly known as common water hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive outside its native range. It is the sole species of the subgenus Oshunae within the genus Pontederia. Anecdotally, it is known as the "terror of Bengal" due to its invasive growth tendencies.

<i>Nymphaea mexicana</i> Species of aquatic plant

Nymphaea mexicana is a species of aquatic plant that is native to the Southern United States and Mexico as far south as Michoacán. Common names include yellow water lily, Mexican water lily and banana water lily.

Carlos Anwandter Nature Sanctuary is protected wetland in Cruces River about 15 km (9 mi) north of Valdivia, Chile. The sanctuary is named after the German politician Carlos Anwandter who settled in Valdivia in 1850. This sanctuary provides a home for many native waterbird species to flourish, and contains roughly 119 species of birds alone. The most numerous bird species in the sanctuary are the black-necked swans followed by coots.

<i>Egeria densa</i> Species of aquatic plant

Egeria densa, the large-flowered waterweed or Brazilian waterweed, is a species of Egeria native to warm temperate South America in southeastern Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. It is considered a problematic invasive species due to its use in home aquariums and subsequent release into non-native ecosystems.

<i>Nymphoides peltata</i> Species of aquatic plant

Nymphoides peltata is perennial, rooted aquatic plant with floating leaves of the family Menyanthaceae.

<i>Utricularia inflata</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Utricularia inflata, commonly known as the swollen bladderwort, inflated bladderwort, or large floating bladderwort, is a large suspended aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is a perennial that is native to the southeastern coastal plains of the United States. It has often been confused with U. radiata, which is similar but smaller than U. inflata. Since 1980, U. inflata has been reported to exist in locations beyond its traditional range, such as the Adirondack Mountains in New York, southeastern Massachusetts, and in Washington State. Studies on the populations in the Adirondacks suggest that an introduction of U. inflata to a location where it naturalizes can lead to altered sediment chemistry by reducing the net primary productivity of native species. It is also listed by the state of Washington as a problematic species because of the dense mat-forming habit of this aquatic Utricularia. It is one of the few carnivorous plants that can be invasive.

<i>Hydrocharis morsus-ranae</i> Species of flowering plant

Hydrocharis morsus-ranae L. is a species of the genus Hydrocharis known by the common name European frog-bit. It is a free-floating flowering plant that bears small white flowers. "Morsus-ranae" means "frog bite" in Latin, and it is part of this species' scientific name because frogs might seen as biting on the leaves. European frog-bit is often mistaken for an American frog-bit due to their similar looks and floating freely. It usually displays invasive behavior in Canada and North America, having a major impact on native ecosystems. However, European frog-bit is efficient in accumulating high concentrations of heavy metals and chemicals, removing waste from water.

<i>Pontederia azurea</i> Species of aquatic plant

Pontederia azurea is a water hyacinth from the Americas, sometimes known as anchored water hyacinth. It is the type species of Pontederia subg. Eichhornia, which was previously recognized as part of the polyphyletic genus Eichhornia. It is of some interest as an aquarium plant.

<i>Fontinalis antipyretica</i> Species of aquatic moss

Fontinalis antipyretica, greater water-moss, or common water moss, is a species of submerged aquatic moss belonging to the subclass Bryidae. It is found in both still and flowing freshwater in Europe, Asia, Greenland and Africa. In North America it is found in most Canadian provinces with a seaboard and most US states except the most southern.

Cornops aquaticum is a semiaquatic species of grasshopper native to the Neotropics, from southern Mexico south to central Argentina and Uruguay. It feeds and breeds exclusively on members of the aquatic plant family Pontederiaceae, especially water hyacinth, and is being investigated as a possible biological pest control agent for the water hyacinth in countries where that plant is invasive.

Aquatic plant management involves the science and methodologies used to control invasive and non-invasive aquatic plant species in waterways. Methods used include spraying herbicide, biological controls, mechanical removal as well as habitat modification. Preventing the introduction of invasive species is ideal.

<i>Phyllanthus fluitans</i> Plant in the family Phyllanthaceae

Phyllanthus fluitans, also known as the red root floater, floating spurge, or apple duckweed is a species of free floating aquatic plant and herbaceous perennial in the family Phyllanthaceae. This species is one of the only three non-terrestrial species in the genus Phyllanthus, with the other species being P. leonardianus and P. felicis. The generic name comes from Ancient Greek meaning leaf or a leaf flower, and the specific name comes from Latin meaning floating or float. It was described in March 1863 by George Bentham and Johannes Müller Argoviensis.

References

  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Limnobium laevigatum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  2. San Martín, Cristina; Contreras, Domingo; Vidal, Osvaldo; Solís, José Luis; Ramírez, Carlos (2021). "Distribución en Chile y colonización del río Cayumapu (Valdivia) por el macrófito acuático invasor Limnobium laevigatum" [Distribution in Chile and colonization in Cayumapu river (Valdivia) of the invasive aquatic macrophyte Limnobium laevigatum]. Gayana. Botánica (in Spanish). 78 (1).
  3. Thilina Prasanga, Doremure Gamage (2022-01-24). "Amazon Frogbit As A Floating Aquarium Plant". Pet Fish 101. Retrieved 2022-01-24.