| Proserpinaca palustris | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Saxifragales |
| Family: | Haloragaceae |
| Genus: | Proserpinaca |
| Species: | P. palustris |
| Binomial name | |
| Proserpinaca palustris | |
Proserpinaca palustris, the marsh mermaidweed or common mermaid-weed, [4] [5] is a species of flowering plant in the watermilfoil family (Haloragaceae). It is found in North America, the Caribbean, and Central America. [5]
Proserpinaca palustris has submerged leaves, which are sessile, 2–6 cm (1–2 in) long. They are deeply divided into linear segments and the emergent leaves are simply serrated. Fruits have concave sides and sharp or winged angles. [6] Leaves are divided into thread-like segments with a weak phloem and no xylem. The non-submerged leaves are broad with a serrated leaf margin and have a strong vascular system.
Proserpinaca palustris is heterophyllous, meaning that its leaves develop different morphology based on the environmental conditions. Humidity has been found to have the greatest impact on leaf variability. [7] There is no standard internode length or leaf orientation. Exposure to intense high light or elevated temperatures has the most effect on the submerged shoots of long-day plants, causing them to produce transitional leaf forms. [8] Proserpinaca palustris has fruit that is dry but does not split or burst when ripe. Proserpinaca palustris has an alternate leaf arrangement and radially symmetrical flowers, whose petals are fused into a cup-like shape. The stem of the plant ranges in color from green, brown, orange, to pink, with bright green to orange frond-like leaves. [9]
There are two varieties currently recognized by the International Plant Names Index: P. palustris var. australis and P. palustris var. palustris. Proserpinaca palustris L. has eight synonyms listed in the World Flora Online Plant List: P. heterophyla, P. serrata, P. tuberculate, P. palustris var. crebra, P. palustris var. palustris, P. amblygona, P. palustris var. pectinate, P. platycarpa, and P. palustris var. amblyogona. Several of these synonyms were once considered distinct varieties but have been reclassified by the World Flora Online Plant Index as of 2024. However, there is still debate about whether P. palustris var. crebra should be classified as a valid variety, with proponents distinguishing it through habitat and width of fruit. [10]
Proserpinaca palustris is commonly found in freshwater swamps, marshes, bogs, ponds, and shorelines in temperate climates in the Americas. It is found in the eastern half of North America, the Caribbean, Central America, and the southern coast of South America. It was recently observed as a probably introduction in the wetlands of the Southern Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina. This is common, as P. palustris is often found in disturbed areas, such as roadsides and ditches. [11] The Flora of the Southeastern US classifies P. palustris as a secure global species [12] and is most abundant in the coastal plain of eastern North America, though not found in brackish water or saltwater. According to the IUCN, it is not currently threatened and is listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List and as secure by the Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council. However, though it is classified as a secure species, there are several states in the United States of America and several provinces in Canada whose populations are considered to be ‘Imperiled’ or ‘Critically Imperiled’.
Proserpinaca palustris is used commercially as decoration for aquariums, as they grow much slower and smaller in controlled environments like fish tanks. They act as habitat enrichment and a method of beautification. [13]
Proserpinanca palustris gets its name from the myth of Proserpina, or Persephone, the ancient Roman and Greek goddess of spring and the underworld. Carl Linnaeus drew inspiration from Pliny the Elder’s Natural History when naming the plant, as a reference to the plant picked by Proserpina at the time of her abduction. Linnaeus saw a connection between the plant’s ability to adapt to its environment and Proserpina’s annual switch between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Parallels were drawn to Proserpina’s duality of existence and heterophyllous leaves of P. palustris. [14]
Proserpinaca palistrus is often confused with Proserpinaca pectinata but can be distinguished through leaf and flower arrangement. Proserpinaca palustris is characterized as having flowers subtended by toothed bracts and leaf blades that measure between 20 and 40 mm (0.79 and 1.57 in) in length from tip to base, with the lower leaf blades being divided into 7 to 14 pairs of segments. Proserpinaca pectinata has flowers that are subtended by pinnately lobed or pinnately divided bracts and leaf blades that measure between 10 to 30 mm (0.39 to 1.18 in) in length, with lower leaf blades that are divided into 6 to 9 pairs of segments. [9]
Caltha palustris, known as marsh-marigold and kingcup, is a small to medium sized perennial herbaceous plant of the buttercup family, native to marshes, fens, ditches and wet woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It flowers between April and August, dependent on altitude and latitude, but occasional flowers may occur at other times.
Drosera capillaris, also known as the pink sundew, is a species of carnivorous plant belonging to the family Droseraceae. It is native to the southern United States, the Greater Antilles, western and southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. It is listed as vulnerable in the US state of Virginia, and critically imperiled in Arkansas, Maryland, and Tennessee.
Caltha is a genus of rhizomatous perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, to which ten species have been assigned. They occur in moist environments in temperate and cold regions of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Their leaves are generally heart-shaped or kidney-shaped, or are characteristically diplophyllous. Flowers are star shaped and mostly yellow to white. True petals and nectaries are missing but the five or more sepals are distinctly colored. As usual in the buttercup family there is a circle of stamens around free carpels.
Rudbeckia laciniata, the cutleaf coneflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to North America, where it is widespread in both Canada and the United States. Its natural habitat is wet sites in flood plains, along stream banks, and in moist forests. Common names other than cutleaf coneflower include cutleaf, goldenglow, green-headed coneflower, tall coneflower, sochan and thimbleweed.
Anemonoides quinquefolia, a flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, is native to North America. It is commonly called wood anemone or windflower, not to be confused with Anemonoides nemorosa, a closely related European species also known by these common names. The specific epithet quinquefolia means "five-leaved", which is a misnomer since each leaf has just three leaflets. A plant typically has a single, small white flower with 5 sepals.
Tiarella cordifolia, the heart-leaved foamflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Saxifragaceae. The specific name cordifolia means "with heart-shaped leaves", a characteristic shared by all taxa of Tiarella in eastern North America. It is also referred to as Allegheny foamflower, false miterwort, and coolwort.
Sarracenia leucophylla, also known as the crimson pitcherplant, purple trumpet-leaf or white pitcherplant, is a carnivorous plant in the genus Sarracenia.
Banksia fraseri is a species of shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has hairy stems, broadly linear pinnatisect leaves with between four and eighteen sharply-pointed lobes on each side, between eighty and one hundred pink to cream-coloured flowers and wedge-shaped follicles.
Gazania linearis is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, with thin linear leaves, native to South Africa.
Lathyrus palustris is a species of wild pea known by the common name marsh pea. It is native to Europe, Asia, and North America. It is a perennial herb with leaves made up of oval-shaped or oblong leaflets a few centimeters long. It has branched, coiled tendrils. The plant bears an inflorescence of two to eight pinkish purple pea flowers each up to two centimeters wide. The fruit is a dehiscent legume pod.
Limnophila is a genus of flowering plants in the family Plantaginaceae. It is distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Species are known commonly as marshweeds.
Ranunculus flabellaris is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup genus, Ranunculus, known by the common name yellow water buttercup or the yellow water crowfoot. It is native to much of North America, including the southern half of Canada and most of the United States.
Styrax americanus, the American snowbell or mock-orange, is a plant species native to the southeastern United States and the Ohio Valley. It has been reported from Texas and Florida to Virginia and Missouri. It generally grows in swamps and on floodplains and in other wet locations.
Galium circaezans, common name licorice bedstraw or wild licorice, is a plant species in the family Rubiaceae. It is native to the eastern half of the United States from the Great Plains to the Atlantic, plus Quebec and Ontario. There are also a few isolated populations in Washington state, probably adventive. Galium circaezans was originally described by André Michaux in Flora Boreali-Americana. It is also known as white licorice, forest bedstraw, and more. Galium circaezans is a weedy, herbaceous perennial or subshrub. It is native to Central and Eastern North America. Other synonyms of Galium circaezans include Galium brachiatum Muhl. (Illegitimate), Galium circaeoides Roem. & Schult, and Galium rotundifolium var. circaezans (Michx.) Kuntze. Galium circaezans is not threatened to go extinct.
Aureolaria pedicularia, the fernleaf yellow false foxglove, fern-leaved false foxglove, or fernleaf false foxglove, is a parasitic plant of the family Orobanchaceae. Aureolaria pedicularia is native to parts of the eastern US, the Midwest, and adjacent Canada. This plant is known for its distinct leaf shape and overall plant size. The common names for Aureolaria pedicularia come from its fern-like leaves.
Proserpinaca, commonly called mermaidweed, is a genus of flowering plants in the watermilfoil family (Haloragaceae). It is a small genus, comprising only two to three extant species, all of which are native to eastern North America and the West Indies. All species in this genus are found in aquatic or terrestrial wetland habitats.
Butia odorata, also known as the South American jelly palm, jelly palm, or pindo palm, is a Butia palm native to southernmost Brazil and Uruguay. This slow-growing palm grows up to 10m, although it is often less tall. It is identifiable by its feather palm pinnate leaves that arch inwards towards a thick stout trunk.
Pedicularis palustris, commonly known as marsh lousewort or red rattle, is a plant species in the family Orobanchaceae. It is native to central and northern Europe and Asia where it grows in wetlands and boggy habitats. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of least concern.
Symphyotrichum kentuckiense is a rare species of flowering plant in the Asteraceae family and is commonly known as Kentucky aster, Price's aster, Miss Price's aster, Sadie's aster, or lavender oldfield aster. It is a perennial, herbaceous plant that is endemic to broken limestone cedar glades and roadsides in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. It blooms from August through October, reaches heights between 30 centimeters and 100 cm (3.3 ft), and has green to reddish-brown stems. It is a nearly hairless plant with blue to blue-violet ray florets.
Oenanthe fluviatilis, the river water-dropwort, is a flowering plant in the carrot family, Apiaceae, which is endemic to north-west Europe. It grows only in clear, unpolluted rivers and is declining throughout its range.
