Pontederia

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Pontederia
Pontederia cordata.JPG
Pontederia cordata
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Commelinales
Family: Pontederiaceae
Genus: Pontederia
L.
Species

See text.

Pontederia is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. Pontederia is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud.[ citation needed ] The genus was named by Linnaeus in honour of the Italian botanist Giulio Pontedera. [1]

Contents

Pontederia plants have large waxy leaves, succulent stems and a thick pad of fibrous roots. The roots give rise to rhizomes that allow rapid colonization by vegetative reproduction. Species are perennial, and produce a large spike of flowers in the summer. There is a species of bee ( Dufourea novaeangliae ) that exclusively visits Pontederia cordata;[ citation needed ] waterfowl also eat the fruit of the plant.[ citation needed ]

Pontederia cordata and Pontederia crassipes (formerly known as Eichhornia crassipes ), have become invasive in many tropical and temperate parts of the globe, but are, on the other hand, efficient biological filters of polluted water in constructed wetlands. [2]

Species [3]

Pontederia cordata Pontederia cordata00.jpg
Pontederia cordata Pontederia cordata01.jpg

Pontederia includes the following 25 accepted species:

Related Research Articles

<i>Eichhornia</i> Species of plant

Eichhornia, commonly called water hyacinths, was a polyphyletic genus of the aquatic flowering plants family Pontederiaceae. Since it was consistently recovered in three independent lineages, it has been sunk into Pontederia, together with Monochoria. Each of the three lineages is currently recognized as subgenera in Pontederia:

<i>Dracaena</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Dracaena is a genus of about 120 species of trees and succulent shrubs. The formerly accepted genera Pleomele and Sansevieria are now included in Dracaena. In the APG IV classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae. It has also formerly been separated into the family Dracaenaceae or placed in the Agavaceae.

<i>Myosotis</i> Genus of flowering plants in the borage family Boraginaceae

Myosotis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. The name comes from the Ancient Greek μυοσωτίς "mouse's ear", which the foliage is thought to resemble. In the northern hemisphere they are colloquially known as forget-me-nots or scorpion grasses. Myosotis alpestris is the official flower of Alaska and Dalsland, Sweden. Plants of the genus are commonly confused with Chatham Islands' forget-me-nots, which belong to the related genus Myosotidium.

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

Cryptocoryne is a genus of aquatic plants from the family Araceae. The genus is naturally distributed in tropical regions of India, Southeast Asia and New Guinea.

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

Pontederiaceae is a family of flowering plants.

<i>Cissus</i> Genus of grapevines

Cissus is a genus of approximately 350 species of lianas in the grape family (Vitaceae). They have a cosmopolitan distribution, though the majority are to be found in the tropics.

<i>Zeuxine</i> Genus of orchids

Zeuxine, commonly known as verdant jewel orchids, is a genus of about eighty species of orchids in the tribe Cranichideae. They are native to parts of tropical Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia and some Pacific Islands. They have relatively narrow, dark green leaves and small, dull-coloured resupinate flowers with the dorsal sepal and petals overlapping to form a hood over the column. The labellum has a pouched base and its tip has two lobes.

<i>Echinodorus</i> Genus of flowering plants in the water-plantain family Alismataceae

Echinodorus, commonly known as burhead or Amazon sword, is a genus of plants in the family Alismataceae, native to the Western Hemisphere from the central United States to Argentina. Its scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek echius – "rough husk" - and doros – "leathern bottle" - alluding to ovaries, which in some species are armed with persistent styles, forming prickly head of fruit. Some of the species are commonly cultivated in artificial aquatic habitats.

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

Aechmea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bromeliaceae. The name comes from the Greek aichme, meaning "spear". Suggested pronunciations include EEK-me-ə and eek-MEE. Aechmea comprises eight subgenera and around 250 species distributed from Mexico through South America and the Caribbean. Most of the species in this genus are epiphytes.

<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>Eleocharis</i> Genus of grass-like plants

Eleocharis is a virtually cosmopolitan genus of 250 or more species of flowering plants in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. The name is derived from the Greek words ἕλειος (heleios), meaning "marsh dweller," and χάρις (charis), meaning "grace." Members of the genus are known commonly as spikerushes or spikesedges. The genus has a geographically cosmopolitan distribution, with centers of diversity in the Amazon Rainforest and adjacent eastern slopes of the South American Andes, northern Australia, eastern North America, California, Southern Africa, and subtropical Asia. The vast majority of Eleocharis species grow in aquatic or mesic habitats from sea level to higher than 5,000 meters in elevation.

<i>Salacia</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Salacia is a genus of plants in the family Celastraceae. They are woody climbers naturally found in tropical regions.

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

Pontederia cordata, common name pickerelweed (USA) or pickerel weed (UK), is a monocotyledonous aquatic plant native to the American continents. It grows in a variety of wetlands, including pond and lake margins across an extremely large range from eastern Canada south to Argentina. A few examples include northern rivers, the Everglades and Louisiana.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monochoria</span> Genus of flowering plants

Monochoria was originally a genus of aquatic plants in the water hyacinth family, Pontederiaceae. Currently, it has been reduced to a subgenus of Pontederia, Pontederia subg. Monochoria, represented by ten species. Its species are native to tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia, and Oceania. They live in the water or in wet soils. They produce leaves on long petioles and some are cultivated for their attractive flowers.

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.

Oxyspora is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Melastomataceae.

References

  1. "Definition of PONTEDERIA". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  2. Kadlec, Robert H.; Scott Wallace (2008). Treatment Wetlands (2 ed.). CRC Press. p. 97. ISBN   978-1-56670-526-4.
  3. "Pontederia L. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2021-06-17.