Flora of North America species comparison

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Elatine rubella

red-stem waterwort, Southwestern waterwort, three-flower waterwort
Habit Herbs, emergent on wet substrates, 1–6(–16) cm.
Stems

ascending or prostrate, branched.
Leaves

reddish green;

stipules lanceolate, 0.5–0.6 mm, margins dentate, apex acute;

petiole 0.5–1(–3) mm;

blade oblong-lanceolate, 3–8 × (0.5–)1–2(–2.2) mm, base attenuate to rounded, apex obtuse to slightly emarginate.
Pedicels

0–0.5 mm, erect.
Flowers

sepals (2–)3, if 2, equal, if 3, 1 smaller, oblong-ovate or widely lanceolate, 1–1.5 × 1–1.5 mm;

petals 3, pinkish white to reddish, elliptic or ovate, 1–1.5 × 0.5 mm;

stamens 3;

styles 3.
Capsules

oblong-ovoid, 3-locular, 1.5–2.5 mm diam.
Seeds

10–20(–30) per locule, narrowly oblong, straight or curved to 15°, 0.5–0.7 × 0.1–0.3 mm;

pits angular-hexagonal, length 1–2 times width, in 8–10 rows, 16–25(–30) per row.

Elatine rubella
Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Muddy shores, shallow vernal pools, ditches, rice fields.
Elevation 0–2900 m. (0–9500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; KS; MT; NE; NM; NV; OR; SD; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Reports of Elatine rubella from southern British Columbia and Washington are based on misidentifications of E. brachysperma and E. chilensis, respectively.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 352.
Parent taxa Elatinaceae > Elatine
Sibling taxa
E. ambigua, E. americana, E. brachysperma, E. californica, E. chilensis, E. heterandra, E. minima, E. ojibwayensis, E. triandra
Name authority Rydberg: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 1: 260. (1900)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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