The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

spiny false fiddleleaf

false fiddleleaf

Habit Herbs or small shrubs, usually perennial.
Stems

green, brown, or purple, glabrous or hispid-hirsute, with or without glandular trichomes or long, jointed hairs;

thorns occasionally bearing small leaves toward tips.

Leaf

blades ovate, lanceolate, or linear, occasionally orbiculate, pinnately veined, base attenuate, acute, round, or obtuse, margins entire or serrulate, often undulate, apex acuminate to acute, surfaces glabrous or densely pubescent, sometimes gland-dotted, with or without glandular trichomes or long, jointed hairs, occasionally pubescent only along main veins.

Inflorescences

terminal or axillary, pedunculate, highly branched or unbranched.

Flowers

sepals lanceolate or ovate, margins entire, surfaces glabrous or hispid-hirsute, with or without glandular trichomes or long, jointed hairs;

corolla blue or white, campanulate;

anthers pale pink, white, or blue;

filaments white or blue, abruptly dilated at base, glabrous;

pollen white or yellow;

ovary green or blue, globose or subglobose, proximal 1/2 glabrous, distal 1/2 glabrous, puberulent, or glandular-pubescent;

styles white, brown, or blue, often curved inward to summits, glabrous, puberulent, or glandular-pubescent (especially at base);

stigmas funnelform.

Capsules

brown or purple, globose or ovoid, occasionally truncated at style bases, 3–7 × 2.5–7 mm, proximal 1/2 glabrous, distal 1/2 glabrous, puberulent, or glandular-pubescent.

Seeds

tan to dark brown, ovoid to cylindric, symmetric or occasionally asymmetric, 0.4–0.7 × 0.2–0.4 mm.

Hydrolea spinosa

Hydrolea

Distribution
from USDA
Mexico; Central America; South America; Texas; Asia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
e United States; sc United States; Mexico; Central America; South America; s Asia; se Asia; Africa; Indian Ocean Islands (Madagascar); Pacific Islands (Philippines); n Australia
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (1 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Species 11 (5 in the flora).

Species in the flora area are placed in Hydrolea sect. Hydrolea.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Inflorescences axillary fascicles.
→ 2
2. Stems and sepals with long, jointed hairs.
H. quadrivalvis
2. Stems and sepals without long, jointed hairs.
H. uniflora
1. Inflorescences terminal corymbs or leafy panicles.
→ 3
3. Stems pubescent or hispid-hirsute, usually densely covered with glandular trichomes, occasionally glabrous.
H. spinosa
3. Stems pubescent, sometimes with few glandular trichomes.
→ 4
4. Leaf blades ovate, 1–2.5 cm wide, margins entire, surfaces pubescent; styles 10–15 mm.
H. ovata
4. Leaf blades lanceolate, 0.3–1 cm wide, margins serrulate, surfaces glabrous or pubescent; styles 5–10 mm.
H. corymbosa
Source FNA vol. 14. FNA vol. 14.
Parent taxa Hydroleaceae > Hydrolea Hydroleaceae
Sibling taxa
H. corymbosa, H. ovata, H. quadrivalvis, H. uniflora
Subordinate taxa
H. spinosa var. spinosa
H. corymbosa, H. ovata, H. quadrivalvis, H. spinosa, H. uniflora
Synonyms Nama spinosa
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. ed. 2, 1: 328. (1762) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. ed. 2, 1: 328. (1762) — name conserved: Gen. Pl. ed. 6, 124. (1764) — name conserved
Web links