Potamogeton clystocarpus

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Potamogeton clystocarpus
Status TNC G1.svg
Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Potamogetonaceae
Genus: Potamogeton
Species:P. clystocarpus
Binomial name
Potamogeton clystocarpus

Potamogeton clystocarpus is a rare species of flowering plant in the pondweed family known by the common name Little Aguja pondweed. It is endemic to Texas in the United States, where it is known only from one river canyon in Jeff Davis County. There is a single population of the aquatic plant in Little Aguja Creek, and it has never been seen anywhere else. This is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

Potamogetonaceae family of plants

The Potamogetonaceae, commonly referred to as the pondweed family, are an aquatic family of monocotyledonous flowering plants. The roughly 110 known species are divided over six genera. The largest genus in the family by far is Potamogeton, which contains about 100 species.

Endemism Ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location or habitat

Endemism is the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation, country or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. The extreme opposite of endemism is cosmopolitan distribution. An alternative term for a species that is endemic is precinctive, which applies to species that are restricted to a defined geographical area.

Texas State of the United States of America

Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Geographically located in the South Central region of the country, Texas shares borders with the U.S. states of Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the southwest, while the Gulf of Mexico is to the southeast.

This aquatic plant has a stem growing up to 57 centimeters long, [1] varying in length depending on the depth of the water. [2] The delicate, spirally arranged leaves are linear in shape and up to 7.8 centimeters in length by 1 or 2 millimeters wide. The inflorescence is the only part of the plant that is not submersed. It arises a few centimeters above the water's surface. [1] The plant reproduces sexually via seed and vegetatively via broken-off fragments of the stem, which can produce roots and anchor to form a new plant. Little else is known about the plant's life history. [3]

Inflorescence Term used in botany to describe a cluster of flowers

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed. The modifications can involve the length and the nature of the internodes and the phyllotaxis, as well as variations in the proportions, compressions, swellings, adnations, connations and reduction of main and secondary axes. Inflorescence can also be defined as the reproductive portion of a plant that bears a cluster of flowers in a specific pattern.

Sexual reproduction Reproduction process that creates a new organism by combining the genetic material of two organisms

Sexual reproduction is a type of life cycle where generations alternate between cells with a single set of chromosomes (haploid) and cells with a double set of chromosomes (diploid). Sexual reproduction is by far the most common life cycle in eukaryotes, for example animals and plants.

Vegetative reproduction form of asexual reproduction in plants

Vegetative reproduction is any form of asexual reproduction occurring in plants in which a new plant grows from a fragment of the parent plant or a specialized reproductive structure.

The plant has been noted and collected several times since its first collection in 1931. Though extremely restricted in distribution, it has usually appeared common to abundant in the one stream where it occurs. The Little Aguja Creek drains the Davis Mountains of West Texas. [3] It is a very dynamic river, experiencing low levels during drought, severe, scouring flooding during high-drainage seasons, and changing water quality from chemical contamination and livestock upriver. [4]

Davis Mountains mountain range in the US state of Texas

The Davis Mountains, originally known as Limpia Mountains, are a range of mountains in West Texas, located near Fort Davis, after which they are named. The fort was named for then United States Secretary of War and later Confederate President Jefferson Davis. They are a popular site for camping and hiking and the region includes Fort Davis National Historic Site and Davis Mountains State Park. The historical and architectural value of the fort, along with the rugged natural environment of the park are a significant destination for tourism in Texas.

West Texas Region in Texas, United States

West Texas is a loosely defined part of the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio.

Drought extended period when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply

A drought or drouth is a natural disaster of below-average precipitation in a given region, resulting in prolonged shortages in the water supply, whether atmospheric, surface water or ground water. A drought can last for months or years, or may be declared after as few as 15 days. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region and harm to the local economy. Annual dry seasons in the tropics significantly increase the chances of a drought developing and subsequent bush fires. Periods of heat can significantly worsen drought conditions by hastening evaporation of water vapour.

In 1991 and 1992 heavy flooding scoured the canyon and the plant has not been seen since. [4] Surveys have not relocated the plant. [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Potamogeton crispus</i> species of plant

Potamogeton crispus, the curled pondweed or curly-leaf pondweed, is a species of aquatic plant native to Eurasia but an introduced species and often a noxious weed in North America.

<i>Potamogeton perfoliatus</i> species of plant

Potamogeton perfoliatus is a perennial aquatic plant in the family Potamogetonaceae occurring in both standing and flowing freshwater habitats. It is widely distributed globally, occurring in all continents except South America and Antarctica.

<i>Potamogeton amplifolius</i> species of plant

Potamogeton amplifolius, commonly known as largeleaf pondweed or broad-leaved pondweed, is an aquatic plant of North America. It grows in water bodies such as lakes, ponds, and rivers, often in deep water.

<i>Potamogeton praelongus</i> species of plant

Potamogeton praelongus, commonly known as whitestem pondweed in North America and Long-stalked Pondweed in Britain, is a large, perennial aquatic plant in the family Potamogetonaceae. It is widely distributed in lakes and rivers in the northern hemisphere, but is sensitive to poor water quality.

<i>Potamogeton coloratus</i> species of plant

Potamogeton coloratus, the fen pondweed, is an aquatic plant in the genus Potamogeton. It is found in shallow peaty calcareous lakes, ponds and ditches, commonly associated with lowland fens.

<i>Potamogeton lucens</i> species of plant

Potamogeton lucens, or shining pondweed, is an aquatic perennial plant native to Eurasia and North Africa. It grows in relatively deep, still or slow-flowing, calcareous freshwater habitats.

<i>Potamogeton alpinus</i> species of plant

Potamogeton alpinus is a species of perennial aquatic plant known by the common names alpine pondweed and red pondweed. It is widespread in the northern hemisphere in both rivers and lakes with good water quality.

<i>Potamogeton diversifolius</i> species of plant

Potamogeton diversifolius is a species of aquatic plant known by the common names waterthread pondweed and diverse-leaved pondweed. It is native to most of the United States, as well as sections of southwestern Canada, and northern Mexico, where it grows in water bodies such as ponds, lakes, ditches, and slow-moving streams. This is a perennial herb producing a very narrow, compressed stem branching to a maximum length around 35 centimeters. It has thin, pointed linear leaves a few centimeters long spirally arranged about the thin stem. The inflorescence is a small spike of flowers emerging from the water surface. Inflorescences also grow on submersed sections of the stem; these are smaller and spherical. It can be difficult to distinguish from similar species of pondweed. One of the first confirmed findings in Canada was made in Alberta by one of the nation's leading young ecologists, a graduate of Trent University and Sir Sandford Fleming College. It is still unknown just how far north the plant can be found, as this finding could signal its ability to grow in colder regions of North America.

<i>Potamogeton epihydrus</i> species of plant

Potamogeton epihydrus is a perennial aquatic plant known by the common name ribbonleaf pondweed, Nuttall's pondweed or in Britain and Ireland American pondweed. It is native to much of North America, where it grows in water bodies such as ponds, lakes, ditches, and slow-moving streams.

<i>Potamogeton foliosus</i> species of plant

Potamogeton foliosus is a species of aquatic plant known by the common name leafy pondweed. It is native to nearly all of North America and parts of Central America, where it grows in water bodies such as ponds, lakes, ditches, and slow-moving streams. It has been reported from every state in the United States except Hawaii as well as from every Canadian province and territory except Newfoundland and Nunavut.

<i>Potamogeton gramineus</i> species of plant

Potamogeton gramineus is a species of aquatic plant known by the common name various-leaved pondweed, variableleaf pondweed, grass-leaved pondweed or grassy pondweed, native to the northern hemisphere where it grows in shallow, clean water.

<i>Potamogeton nodosus</i> species of plant

Potamogeton nodosus is a species of aquatic plant known by the common names longleaf pondweed and Loddon pondweed. It is native to Eurasia and the Americas, where it is widespread and can be found in water bodies such as ponds, lakes, ditches, and streams. This is a perennial herb producing a thin, branching stem easily exceeding a meter in maximum length. The leaves are linear to widely lance-shaped and up to 15 centimeters long by 4 wide. Both floating leaves and submerged leaves are borne on long petioles, a distinguishing characteristic. The inflorescence is a spike of many small flowers arising from the water on a peduncle.

<i>Potamogeton pusillus</i> species of plant

Potamogeton pusillus is a species of aquatic plant known by the common names small pondweed, lesser pondweed or least pondweed. It occurs in standing and slow-flowing freshwater habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere.

<i>Potamogeton richardsonii</i> species of plant

Potamogeton richardsonii is a species of aquatic plant known by the common name Richardson's pondweed. It is native to much of northern North America, including all of Canada and the northern and western United States. It grows in water bodies such as ponds, lakes, ditches, and streams. This perennial herb grows a narrow, mostly unbranched stem from a mat of rhizomes in the substrate. It reaches about a meter in maximum length. The leaves are up to 13 centimeters long and about 3 wide with crinkly pointed or rounded tips. The inflorescence is a spike of flowers arising from the water surface on a peduncle.

<i>Potamogeton compressus</i> species of plant

Potamogeton compressus is a species of aquatic plant known by the common names grass-wrack pondweed, flatstem pondweed and eel-grass pondweed.

<i>Potamogeton obtusifolius</i> species of plant

Potamogeton obtusifolius, known as blunt-leaved pondweed, is an aquatic plant in the genus Potamogeton. It grows mainly in mesotrophic to eutrophic lakes, ponds and ditches, rarely in brackish water. It occurs primarily in Central Europe, the British Isles, Fennoscandia and eastern North America.

<i>Potamogeton berchtoldii</i> species of plant

Potamogeton berchtoldii, common name small pondweed is an aquatic plant.

<i>Potamogeton trichoides</i> species of plant

Potamogeton trichoides is a species of aquatic plant known by the common name hairlike pondweed, native to Europe and western Asia where it grows in calcareous, usually nutrient-rich standing or slow-flowing water.

<i>Potamogeton</i> × <i>angustifolius</i> species of plant

Potamogeton × angustifolius is a hybrid pondweed between Potamogeton gramineus and Potamogeton lucens, known as long-leaved pondweed. It is widepread in rivers and lakes except where the water is very soft.

References

  1. 1 2 Potamogeton clystocarpus. Flora of North America.
  2. 1 2 Potamogeton clystocarpus. Texas Parks & Wildlife.
  3. 1 2 3 USFWS. Potamogeton clystocarpus Recovery Plan. June 1994.
  4. 1 2 Potamogeton clystocarpus. The Nature Conservancy.
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