Marsilea minuta

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Marsilea minuta
Marsilea minuta 9090.jpg
Marsilea minuta
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Salviniales
Family: Marsileaceae
Genus: Marsilea
Species:
M. minuta
Binomial name
Marsilea minuta
L. 1771 [2]
Subspecies
Native range of Marsilea minuta.png
Native range of Marsilea minuta [1] [4]
Synonyms [2]
List

Marsilea minuta, or dwarf waterclover is a species of aquatic fern in the family Marsileaceae. It is not to be confused with Marsilea minuta E.Fourn. 1880, which is a synonym for Marsilea vestita . [4] Other common names include gelid waterklawer, small water clover, [1] airy pepperwort, and pepperwort, [7] though the lattermost also applies to plants in the genus Lepidium. In French it is called marsilea à quatre feuilles (literally "four-leafed marsilea") [7] and petite marsilée (literally "little Marsilea"), [1] the latter appearing to be a calque with the Latin botanical name. In Chinese it is 南国田字草 (nan guo tian zi cao), [8] 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. [9] It is called 'শুশনি শাক' ('shushni shak') in Bengali [ citation needed ]. In parts of India it can be called sunisanakka [10] In Indonesian it is semanggi (literally "clover"), [7] but this name also applies to Marsilea crenata . In Japanese it is nangokudenjiso and in Thai it is phakwaen. [7] In Malaysian it is tapak itik (literally "duck footprints"). [7] In the Philippines it is kaya-kayapuan (literally "so crowded"). [7]

Contents

Description

M. minuta has a strongly variable appearance, [5] which often leads to confusion with closely related species. In the water the plant is creeping and spreading, while on land it can appear cushion-like. [5] It typically is perennial but sometimes appears annual. It is a tenagophyte, with the juvenile growing submerged and the adult typically terrestrial. [5]

It has a light brown to green rhizome that is 0.4–0.8 millimetres (164132 in) thick with short tan hairs at the ends and internodal roots. [4] The land leaves are on erect, terete, 5–13 centimetres (2.0–5.1 in) long petioles. [4] The leaflets are 0.8–1.7 centimetres (3858 in) by 1.2–2 centimetres (1234 in), mostly glabrous, cuneate or flabellate. [4] The leaves in water are typically not floating, but emergent from the water. [4] Fertile leaves are produced on land with up to four sporocarps each at penduncles near the base of the petiole. [4] It has a small sporocarp that is 2.6–4.1 millimetres (764532 in) long, 2.4–3.1 millimetres (33218 in) wide, and 1.3–1.7 millimetres (364116 in) thick. [4] [11] The sporocarp has a superior tooth at the apex of the stalk and an inferior tooth at the base. [12] [5] The sporocarp has a conspicuous 1.5–2.2 millimetres (116332 in) long raphe, [4] [12] about ⅔ the length of the sporocarp and semi-terete. [5] Unlike a few Marsilea species, M. minuta sporocarps mature above ground. [12]

Genomic information
Ploidy diploid [13]
Number of chromosomes 40 [13]

Taxonomy

M. minuta is thought to be closely related to Marsilea quadrifolia . [4] Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the genus Marsilea puts both in a widespread Old World subgroup also called "Marsilea" along with M. angustifolia , M. drummondii , M. crenata , and M. fadeniana and indicating that M. crenata is actually a synonym of M. minuta. [12] [7]

Marsilea subgroup

M. angustifolia

M. drummondii

M. minutaM. crenataM. fadeniana complex

M. crenata Indonesia

M. crenata Thailand

M. minuta India

M. minuta Myanmar

M. minuta Africa

M. fadeniana

M. quadrifolia

Habitat and ecology

Marsilea minuta can grow from sea level up to 1,950m in elevation [1] in ponds and other shallow water. [8] It can grow in fresh water or brackish water in clay or sandy soil. [4] The plant can develop into large colonies, and can be weedy. [4] [11] Some of its preferred habitat is being lost to agriculture but as it readily grows in Paddy fields, drainage ditches, and other marginal areas its overall population is stable. [1] It has the potential to be invasive and dispersal through aquarium trade and other human means should be limited. [7]

It is a native plant in the following countries: [1]

The leaves and sporocarps of M. minuta are eaten by many waterfowl species, and the intact sporocarps pass through undigested to be spread to new areas. [7] Elophila responsalis also feeds on the leaves, but is not thought to do much damage to the plant. [7]

The plant is susceptible to herbicides such as bensulfuron-methyl, cinosulfuron, 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, oxyfluorfen, and paraquat. [7] Otherwise it can tolerate high levels of organic pollution. [5]

Uses

It is eaten in India, Sri Lanka, [14] and in Bangladesh. [9] In China it is used as forage. [8] It has a raw protein content of 3.3%. [14]

The plant is used traditionally in China for edema, skin injuries, snakebite, and inflammation. [8] In Mymensingh District it is traditionally used to treat cough, headache, hypertension, sleep disorders, and respiratory diseases. [9] It is combined with Nardostachys jatamansi and after development by Asima Chatterjee [15] sold as an ayurvedic treatment for epilepsy called "Ayush-56." [10] However, Ayush-56 does not show encouraging results in treating the disease. [16] It is also used as a phytoremediator of arsenic while growing with rice plants. [17] [18]

Related Research Articles

<i>Tagetes</i> Genus of flowering plant

Tagetes is a genus of 50 species of annual or perennial, mostly herbaceous plants in the family Asteraceae. They are among several groups of plants known in English as marigolds. The genus Tagetes was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.

<i>Azolla</i> Genus of aquatic plants

Azolla is a genus of seven species of aquatic ferns in the family Salviniaceae. They are extremely reduced in form and specialized, looking nothing like other typical ferns but more resembling duckweed or some mosses. Azolla filiculoides is one of just two fern species for which a reference genome has been published. It is believed that this genus grew so prolifically during the Eocene that it triggered a global cooling event that has lasted to the present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salviniales</span> Order of plants

The order Salviniales is an order of ferns in the class Polypodiopsida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marsileaceae</span> Family of ferns

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.

<i>Pteridium aquilinum</i> Species of plant (fern)

Pteridium aquilinum, commonly called bracken, brake, pasture brake, common bracken, and also known as eagle fern, is a species of fern occurring in temperate and subtropical regions in both hemispheres. Originally native to Eurasia and North America, the extreme lightness of its spores has led to it achieving a cosmopolitan distribution.

<i>Pilularia</i> Genus of ferns

Pilularia or pillworts is a genus of unusual ferns of family Marsileaceae distributed in North Temperate regions, Ethiopian mountains, and the southern hemisphere in Australia, New Zealand, and western South America.

<i>Marsilea</i> Genus of aquatic plants

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).

<i>Regnellidium</i> Genus of ferns

Regnellidium is a monotypic genus of ferns of family Marsileaceae.

<i>Marsilea villosa</i> Species of fern

Marsilea villosa, the ʻihiʻihi (Hawaiian) or villous waterclover (English), is a species of fern that is endemic to the islands of Oʻahu, Molokaʻi and Niʻihau in Hawaii. It is found exclusively in areas that experience periodic flooding and become ephemeral pools within low elevation dry forests and shrublands. Standing water allows the sporocarp to open and release spores. It also enables the resulting sperm to swim toward and fertilize female ova. For new plants to become established, the waters must subside. Sporocarps only form once the soil has dried to a certain level. Like other species in its genus, the leaves of M. villosa resemble those of a four-leaf clover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nabarlek</span> Species of marsupial

Nabarleks, are a tiny species of macropod found in northern Australia. They are a shy and nocturnal animal that resides in rocky hollows and forages in the surrounding area. Their diet is grasses, sedges, and ferns found in and around their scrub covered refuges. They are distinguished by a reddish tinge to the mostly grey fur and a distinct stripe at the cheek. They move with great speed and agility when observed, with a forward leaning posture and a bushy tail that arches over the back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sporocarp (ferns)</span> Spore-releasing structure found in aquatic ferns

A sporocarp is a specialised type of structure in the aquatic ferns of the order Salviniales whose primary function is the production and release of spores.

<i>Marsilea drummondii</i> Species of plant in the family Marsileaceae

Marsilea drummondii is a species of fern known by the common name nardoo. 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. It occurs in abundance after floods. 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.

<i>Marsilea quadrifolia</i> Species of plant

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).

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.

<i>Marsilea crenata</i> Species of fern found in Southeast Asia

Marsilea crenata is a species of fern found in Southeast Asia. It is an aquatic plant looking like a four leaf clover. Leaves floating in deep water or erect in shallow water or on land. Leaflets glaucous, sporocarp ellipsoid, on stalks attached to base of petioles.

<i>Pilularia globulifera</i> Species of fern in the family Marsileaceae

Pilularia globulifera, or pillwort, is an unusual species of fern in the family Marsileaceae. It is native to western Europe, where it grows at the edges of lakes, ponds, ditches and marshes, on wet clay or clay-sand soil, sometimes in water up to 30 cm (12 in) deep.

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.

<i>Pilularia minuta</i> Species of fern

Pilularia minuta, is a species of fern belonging to the family Marsileaceae.

<i>Azolla nilotica</i> Species of aquatic plant

Azolla nilotica is a medium-sized floating fern, that naturally occurs in the Nile and in eastern and central Africa. It is assigned to the family Salviniaceae.

<i>Marsilea vestita</i> Species of plant in the family Marsileaceae

Marsilea vestita, the hairy water-clover, is a species of largely aquatic fern in the family Marsileaceae. It is native to western and central North America, the Bahamas, Barbuda, and Peru. It can grow into a water form or a land form, depending on local conditions.

References

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  14. 1 2 Terra, G.J.A. (1966). "IIID Ferns and Related Plants". Tropical vegetables: vegetable growing in the tropics and subtropics especially of indigenous vegetables. Communication. Vol. 54e (1st ed.). Amsterdam: Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen. p. 57. OCLC   9027279. Marsilea minuta L. (Marsileaceae) I Ce (3.3%)
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