Marsilea drummondii | |
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M. drummondii leaf and fiddlehead | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Division: | Polypodiophyta |
Class: | Polypodiopsida |
Order: | Salviniales |
Family: | Marsileaceae |
Genus: | Marsilea |
Species: | M. drummondii |
Binomial name | |
Marsilea drummondii | |
Occurrence data from the Australasian Virtual Herbarium | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Marsilea drummondii var. hirsutissima(A.Braun) Domin Contents |
Marsilea drummondii is a species of fern known by the common name nardoo. [2] It is native to Australia, where it is widespread and common, particularly in inland regions. It is a rhizomatous perennial aquatic fern that roots in mud substrates and produces herbage that floats on the surface of quiet water bodies. It occurs in water up to one metre deep. [3] It occurs in abundance after floods. [4] It can form mats on the water's surface and cover the ground in carpets as floodwaters recede. It is variable in appearance and occurs in many types of wetland habitat. In general the frond is made up of two pairs of leaflets and is borne erect when not floating.
The plant produces sporocarps which can remain viable for 50 years and only release spores after being thoroughly soaked. [3] The sporocarps are dispersed by birds that eat them but cannot digest them, and by flowing water. [3] The sporocarp is used for food by Aboriginal Australians, who collect, roast and grind them to powder which they mix with water to make a dough. [5] [3] [6] [7] The sporocarp can be toxic due to high levels of thiaminase, which destroys thiamine. [2] Consumption of large amounts can cause beriberi. It has been known to poison sheep, [8] as well as humans, including the leaders of the Burke and Wills expedition. [9] Nardoo must be prepared properly using heat before consumption to destroy the thiaminase. [4] [5]
The earliest specimen in an Australian herbarium is MEL 0052999A, which was collected by Alan Cunningham in 1825 in the Brigalow Belt South region out of Gunnedah in the locality of Curlewis. [10]
Marsileaceae is a small family of heterosporous aquatic and semi-aquatic ferns, though at first sight they do not physically resemble other ferns. The group is commonly known as the "pepperwort family" or as the "water-clover family" because the leaves of the genus Marsilea superficially resemble the leaves of a four-leaf clover. In all, the family contains 3 genera and 50 to 80 species with most of those belonging to Marsilea.
The United States Botanic Garden (USBG) is a botanical garden on the grounds of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., near the James A. Garfield Monument.
Thiaminase is an enzyme that metabolizes or breaks down thiamine into two molecular parts. It is an antinutrient when consumed.
The Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) is a heritage-listed botanical garden located in Acton, Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Established in 1949, the Gardens is administered by the Australian Government's Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. The botanic gardens was added to the Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria are botanic gardens across two sites–Melbourne and Cranbourne.
James Hamlyn Willis was an Australian botanist. He described 64 new species of plants, and published more than 880 works including the landmark two-volume A Handbook to plants in Victoria between 1962 and 1973.
Marsilea is a genus of approximately 65 species of aquatic ferns of the family Marsileaceae. The name honours Italian naturalist Luigi Ferdinando Marsili (1656–1730).
Bush bread, or seedcakes, refers to the bread made by Aboriginal Australians by crushing seeds into a dough that is then baked. The bread is high in protein and carbohydrate, and forms part of a balanced traditional diet. It is also sometimes referred to as damper, although damper is more commonly used to describe the bread made by non-Indigenous people.
Normanbya is a monotypic genus of palms containing the single species Normanbya normanbyi, which is known by the common name black palm It is endemic to Queensland, Australia and is threatened by habitat destruction.
Marsilea quadrifolia is a herbaceous plant found naturally in central and southern Europe, Caucasia, western Siberia, Afghanistan, south-west India, China, Japan, and Vietnam, though it is considered a weed in some parts of the United States, where it has been well established in the northeast for over 100 years. Its common names include four leaf clover and European waterclover (USA).
The National Herbarium of Victoria is one of Australia's earliest herbaria and the oldest scientific institution in Victoria. Its 1.5 million specimens of preserved plants, fungi and algae—collectively known as the State Botanical Collection of Victoria—comprise the largest herbarium collection in Australia and Oceania.
Pilularia americana, the American pillwort, is an unusual species of fern. The fronds essentially consist of the petioles only, any form of flattened laminae having been lost. It is in the aquatic fern family Marsileaceae, and is related to the water clovers and also to Azolla and Salvinia.
Marsilea ancyclopoda, common name tropical water clover, is a plant species native to the warmer parts of the Western Hemisphere. It is widely distributed through Latin America from Mexico to Argentina, as well as from the West Indies. In the United States, it has been reported only from Florida, southern New Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
The National Herbarium of New South Wales was established in 1853. The Herbarium has a collection of more than 1.4 million plant specimens, making it the second largest collection of pressed, dried plant specimens in Australia, including scientific and historically significant collections and samples of Australian flora gathered by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander during the voyage of HMS Endeavour in 1770.
Marsilea minuta, or dwarf waterclover is a species of aquatic fern in the family Marsileaceae. It is not to be confused with Marsilea minutaE.Fourn. 1880, which is a synonym for Marsilea vestita. Other common names include gelid waterklawer, small water clover, airy pepperwort, and pepperwort, though the lattermost also applies to plants in the genus Lepidium. In French it is called marsilea à quatre feuilles and petite marsilée, the latter appearing to be a calque with the Latin botanical name. In Chinese it is 南国田字草, literally "southern field word grass," referencing the similarity of the leaflet shape to the Chinese character for "field." The Koch Rajbongshi people and Garo people call it shusni shak. It is called 'শুশনি শাক' in Bengali. In parts of India it can be called sunisanakka In Indonesian it is semanggi, but this name also applies to Marsilea crenata. In Japanese it is nangokudenjiso and in Thai it is phakwaen. In Malaysian it is tapak itik. In the Philippines it is kaya-kayapuan.
The Australasian Virtual Herbarium (AVH) is an online resource that allows access to plant specimen data held by various Australian and New Zealand herbaria. It is part of the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), and was formed by the amalgamation of Australia's Virtual Herbarium and NZ Virtual Herbarium. As of 12 August 2014, more than five million specimens of the 8 million and upwards specimens available from participating institutions have been databased.
Maireana pyramidata is a species of plant within the genus, Maireana, in the family Amaranthaceae. It is endemic to Australia, and widespread throughout Australia in the inland, where it is found in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Asterella drummondii is a liverwort in the family Aytoniaceae, which was first described as Fimbraria drummondii by Taylor in 1846, from material collected by Ronald Gunn in Tasmania, and James Drummond in Western Australia from the Swan River. It is found in all states of Australia, in semi-arid areas.
Tribulus occidentalis, common name perennial caltrop, is a species of flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae, which is native to Australia, and found in Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
Calamus radicalis, commonly known as vicious hairy mary, is a plant in the palm family Arecaceae endemic to the rainforests of north east Queensland, Australia. Like other species in the genus Calamus, this is a climbing plant with a very long and flexible stem. It uses sharp strong hooks on the fronds and tendrils to attach itself to other vegetation, such as taller established trees, thus gaining support that enables it to grow higher towards the canopy. This species is very similar to C. australis, with which it coexists, but is larger in almost all respects.