Egeria densa |
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Brazilian water weed, large-flower water weed, South American waterweed, water-weed |
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Stems | 1–3 mm diam. |
Leaves | whorled, recurved, 10–40 × 1.5–4.5 mm. |
Staminate | spathes 2–4-flowered, 7.5–12 mm; pedicel to 80 mm. |
2n | = 46. |
Egeria densa |
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Phenology | Flowers summer–fall. |
Habitat | Shallow waters of lakes and streams |
Elevation | 0–500 m (0–1600 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; CA; CO; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NM; NY; OK; OR; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WV; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies; native; Europe; Africa; Asia; Australia [Introduced in North America]
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Discussion | Egeria densa is native to southeastern Brazil and has been widely sold in the aquarium trade, often becoming established in nature. Only staminate plants of E. densa have been observed outside its native range. Reproduction, then, occurs entirely by vegetative methods. No differentiated vegetative reproductive structures (turions, bulbils, etc.) are known (C. D. K. Cook and K. Urmi-König 1984b); however, the species is known to live temporarily under ice. The leaves of Egeria densa, which are only two cell-layers thick, are much used to demonstrate plant-cell structure and cytoplasmic streaming in introductory botany courses. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 22. |
Parent taxa | Hydrocharitaceae > Egeria |
Name authority | Planchon: Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Botanique sér. 3, 11: 80. (1849) |
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