Ludwigia lanceolata |
Ludwigia hexapetala |
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lanceleaf primrose-willow |
false loosestrife, large-flower primrose-willow, primrose willow, six petal water primrose, Uruguayan primrose-willow, water primrose |
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Habit | Herbs slender, with well-developed aerenchyma when base submerged, often forming stolons 10–40 cm, 2–3 mm thick, stolons with widely spaced leaves. | Herbs, subshrubs, or emergent aquatics, adventitious roots sometimes forming a thick mass 10–23 cm at submerged nodes, sometimes woody at base, white pneumatophores 5–10 cm often on submerged stems. |
Stems | erect, subterete or slightly ridged, well branched distally, 45–100 cm, glabrous, with raisedlines decurrent from leaf axils. |
floating or creeping and ascending to erect, terete, 20–200(–400) cm, simple to densely branched apically, glabrous (floating) or sparsely to densely villous (emergent), sometimes villous only on inflorescence. |
Leaves | alternate; stipules ovate to very broadly ovate, 0.2–0.5 ×0.1–0.3 mm, succulent; stolons: petiole winged, 0.2–1 cm, blade orbiculate or elliptic to broadly elliptic, 0.5–2.7 × 0.6–1.2 cm, base attenuate, apex rounded to acute; main stem: petiole winged, 0.1–0.5 cm, blade elliptic, oblanceolate, or narrowly oblanceolate to sublinear, 2–7.5 × 0.2–0.8(–1.4) cm, base narrowly cuneate, sometimes attenuate, margins entire with minute hydathodal glands, apex acute to narrowly acute, leaves on side branches much reduced; bracts sublinear, moderately reduced. |
stipules ovate or deltate, 0.7–2 × 0.5–1.1 mm, not succulent, apex subacute, mucronate; petiole flattened, 0.5–2(–2.5) cm; blade narrowly oblanceolate, narrowly elliptic, or lanceolate to obovate or spatulate, (1.5–)4.2–10.7(–13.5) × (0.5–)0.8–3 cm, chartaceous, base cuneate or attenuate, margins entire, apex acute to obtuse, rounded or truncate, sometimes mucronate, surfaces not shiny, usually glabrous, sometimes villous on petiole and veins or throughout; bracts not reduced. |
Inflorescences | open spikes, flowers solitary in distal leaf axils; bracteoles attached in opposite pairs at or slightly distal to base of ovary, ovate-elliptic to very narrowly elliptic, 1.5–4.3 × 0.4–1.4 mm, often with a swollen base, margins minutely papillose, apex subacute. |
emergent stems sometimes in leafy racemes, sometimes reflexed, flowers solitary in leaf axils; bracteoles obovate to narrowly obovate, 1–1.8 × 0.7–0.8 mm, apex acute or acuminate, attached on distal 1/2 of pedicel or at ovary base. |
Flowers | sepals ascending, pale green, broadly ovate-deltate, 1.5–2.5 × 1.8–3.3 mm, margins minutely papillose, apex usually acute, rarely acuminate, surfaces glabrous; petals 0; filaments nearly translucent, 1–1.4 mm, base dilated, anthers 0.4–0.6(–0.8) × 0.5–0.6 mm; pollen shed in tetrads; ovary broadly obovoid or cup-shaped, 2.5–3.5 × 2.2–3.2 mm; nectary disc elevated 0.4–0.6 mm on ovary apex, yellowish green, 1.8–2.6 mm diam., 4-lobed, glabrous; style yellowish green, 0.5–0.7 mm, glabrous, stigma yellowish green, broadly capitate to subglobose, 0.3–0.5 × 0.7–1 mm, not exserted beyond anthers. |
sepals ovate-deltate or lanceolate-deltate, (8–)12–19 × 2–5 mm, chartaceous, margins entire, apex acuminate, surfaces ± densely villous; petals bright yellow, sometimes with orange base, fan-shaped, (15–)20–30 × (12–)16–25 mm, apex emarginate or mucronate; stamens 10(or 12), in 2 unequal series, yellow, filaments recurved, shorter ones (1.6–)2.3–5.2 mm, longer ones (3.1–)3.6–7.5 mm, anthers oblong, (1.2–)1.7–4 × 1–1.5 mm; ovary subcylindric, terete, 10–18 × 2–3 mm, apex ± broadened, glabrous or sparsely to densely villous; nectary disc slightly raised on ovary apex, yellowish green, 2–4 mm diam., lobed, glabrous or ringed with white hairs; style yellow, 6–10 mm, glabrous, stigma subcapitate-globose, 0.5–1.5 × 1.5–2.5 mm, often exserted beyond anthers. |
Capsules | obpyramidal, sharply 4-angled and 4-winged, wings 0.3–0.7mm wide, 3.5–5 × 2.5–4.5 mm, hard-walled, dehiscent by apical ring, pedicel 0.1–0.5 mm. |
cylindric or subclavate, terete, sometimes curved, (12–)16–24(–30)× 2.5–4 mm, with thick woody walls, irregularly and tardily dehiscent, pedicel (9–)13–25(–85) mm. |
Seeds | light brown, narrowly oblong with constricted ends, 0.6–0.8 ×0.2–0.3 mm, surface cells nearly isodiametric. |
embedded in wedge-shaped piece of endocarp, 0.8–1 × 0.8–1 mm. |
2n | = 32. |
= 80. |
Ludwigia lanceolata |
Ludwigia hexapetala |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Oct. | Flowering spring–late fall. |
Habitat | Ditches, low meadows, cypress swamps, moist pinelands, edges of pocosins, sandy peaty soil. | Wet places, along slow-moving rivers, streams, canals, ditches, often growing into main channel as aquatic weed. |
Elevation | 0–100 m. (0–300 ft.) | 0–200[–2600] m. (0–700[–8500] ft.) |
Distribution |
FL; GA; NC; SC
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AL; AR; CA; FL; GA; KY; LA; MS; NC; NY; OR; PA; SC; TN; WA; Central America (Costa Rica); South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay) [Introduced in w Europe (Belgium, France, Spain)]
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Discussion | Ludwigia lanceolata is fairly uncommon, with scattered populations occurring along the Atlantic coast of southern North Carolina, South Carolina, eastern and southern Georgia, and peninsular Florida. It reaches its western limit in the central panhandle of Florida. C. I. Peng (1988, 1989) found this tetraploid species to be interfertile with other tetraploid species in the section, but few natural hybrids are found, perhaps due to persistent autogamy and habitat specialization. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Ludwigia hexapetala (2n = 80) was formerly included with L. grandiflora (2n = 48) in L. uruguayensis (Cambessèdes) H. Hara, and some authors (G. L. Nesom and J. T. Kartesz 2000) still consider them to be a single species. The small but consistent morphological differences and different ploidy levels argue for keeping them distinct at the species level. Fernald described Jussiaea michauxiana (1944), since he thought that J. grandiflora Michaux (1803) was a homonym (not J. grandiflora Ruíz & Pavon). However, it was later determined that the volume containing the Ruíz & Pavon name was published in 1830 (not 1802) making the name by Michaux valid and legitimate, and the name by Fernald an illegitimate substitution. Plants now known as Ludwigia hexapetala were included in the circumscription of L. uruguayensis (Cambessèdes) H. Hara (based on J. uruguayensis Cambessèdes) by P. H. Raven (1963[1964]) and P. A. Munz (1965). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 10. | FNA vol. 10. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Isnardia lanceolata | Jussiaeahexapetala hooker, J. repens var. major, L. grandiflora subsp. hexapetala, L. grandiflora var. hexapetala, L. uruguayensis var. major |
Name authority | Elliott: Sketch Bot. S. Carolina 1: 213. (1817) | (Hooker & Arnott) Zardini, H. Y. Gu & P. H. Raven: Syst. Bot. 16: 243. (1991) |
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