The Alismatales (alismatids) are an order of flowering plants including about 4500 species. Plants assigned to this order are mostly tropical or aquatic. Some grow in fresh water, some in marine habitats.
The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe or leaf-like bract. Also known as the arum family, members are often colloquially known as aroids. This family of 140 genera and about 3750 known species is most diverse in the New World tropics, although also distributed in the Old World tropics and northern temperate regions.
Juncaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the rush family. It consists of 8 genera and about 464 known species of slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous monocotyledonous plants that may superficially resemble grasses and sedges. They often grow on infertile soils in a wide range of moisture conditions. The best-known and largest genus is Juncus. Most of the Juncus species grow exclusively in wetland habitats. A few rushes, such as Juncus bufonius are annuals, but most are perennials.
Winteraceae is a primitive family of tropical trees and shrubs including 93 species in five genera. It is of particular interest because it is such a primitive angiosperm family, distantly related to Magnoliaceae, though it has a much more southern distribution. Plants in this family grow mostly in the southern hemisphere, and have been found in tropical to temperate climate regions of Malesia, Oceania, eastern Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar and the Neotropics, with most of the genera concentrated in Australasia and Malesia. The five genera, Takhtajania, Tasmannia, Drimys, Pseudowintera, and Zygogynum s.l. all have distinct geographic extant populations. Takhtajania includes a single species, T. perrieri, endemic only to Madagascar, Tasmannia has the largest distribution of genera in Winteraceae with species across the Philippines, Borneo, New Guinea, Eastern Australia, and Tasmannia, Drimys is found in the Neotropical realm, from southern Mexico to the subarctic forests of southern South America, Pseudowintera is found only in New Zealand, and Zygogynum has species in New Guinea and New Caledonia.
The water-plantains (Alismataceae) are a family of flowering plants, comprising 19 genera and between 85 and 95 species. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the greatest number of species in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Most of the species are herbaceous aquatic plants growing in marshes and ponds.
Commelinaceae is a family of flowering plants. In less formal contexts, the group is referred to as the dayflower family or spiderwort family. It is one of five families in the order Commelinales and by far the largest of these with about 731 known species in 41 genera. Well known genera include Commelina (dayflowers) and Tradescantia (spiderworts). The family is diverse in both the Old World tropics and the New World tropics, with some genera present in both. The variation in morphology, especially that of the flower and inflorescence, is considered to be exceptionally high amongst the angiosperms.
Villarsia is a genus of aquatic flowering plants in the family Menyanthaceae. The genus is named for the French botanist Dominique Villars (1745–1814). Villarsia are wetland plants with basal leaves. The inflorescence is a branched panicle with numerous flowers. Flowers are five-parted, either yellow or white, and the petals are adorned with wings. A number of its Australian species were reassigned to Ornduffia.
Juncaginaceae is a family of flowering plants, recognized by most taxonomists for the past few decades. It is also known as the arrowgrass family. It includes 3 genera with a total of 34 known species.
Asteliaceae is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots.
Haloragaceae is a eudicot flowering plant family in the order Saxifragales, based on the phylogenetic APG system. In the Cronquist system, it was included in the order Haloragales.
Goodeniaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asterales. It contains about 404 species in twelve genera. The family is distributed mostly in Australia, except for the genus Scaevola, which is pantropical. Its species are found across most of Australia, being especially common in arid and semi-arid climates.
Nymphoides peltata is perennial, rooted aquatic plant with floating leaves of the family Menyanthaceae.
Nymphoides aquatica is an aquatic plant in the Menyanthaceae, native to the southeastern United States from Texas to Maryland. It is known variously as the banana plant, banana lily, and the big floatingheart. It is most commonly called the banana plant because of its banana-shaped roots. These unusual roots store nutrients.
Nymphoides hydrophylla, commonly known as crested floating-heart, is an aquatic plant of the family Menyanthaceae native to tropical Asia. It has cordate floating leaves that support a lax inflorescence of dainty white flowers with fringed petal margins. Its slim stem (spear) is edible, and is used as vegetable in Taiwan, mostly produced at Meinong District, Kaohsiung.
Ornduffia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Menyanthaceae, native to Australia. Aquatic or wetland herbs, they were split off from Villarsia in 2009.
Ornduffia calthifolia, also known as mountain villarsia, is a species of plant in the Menyanthaceae family of wetland plants that is endemic to Western Australia.
Ornduffia calthifolia is a species of plant in the Menyanthaceae family of wetland plants that is endemic to Western Australia.
Ornduffia parnassifolia is a species of plant in the Menyanthaceae family of wetland plants that is endemic to Western Australia.
Ornduffia reniformis, also known as the running marsh-flower, is a species of plant in the Menyanthaceae family of wetland plants that is endemic to Australia.
Ornduffia umbricola, also known as the lax marsh-flower, is a species of plant in the Menyanthaceae family of wetland plants that is endemic to Australia. There are two recognised varieties.
