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creeping water primrose, floating primrose-willow, marsh purslane

savannah primrose-willow

Habit Herbs or emergent aquatics, rooting at nodes, sometimes with fleshy, white pneumatophores at submerged nodes.
Roots

fascicled, often fusiform, or spreading horizontally.

Stems

floating or creeping and ascending to erect, terete, 10–100(–300) cm, simple or branched, glabrous or sparsely to densely villous, hairs sometimes viscid on emergent distal stem.

subterete to scarcely angled, with narrow raised lines or wings decurrent from leaf axils, 45–85 cm, branched mainly near base, glabrate with strigillose raised lines or strigillose.

Leaves

stipules broadly ovate-deltate, 0.6–1.6 × 0.4–1 mm, succulent, apex acute or obtuse, gland-tipped, rarely divided into 3 parts;

petiole flattened or narrowly winged, 0.2–6 cm;

blade narrowly oblong or elliptic to ovate, broadly obovate, or orbiculate, (0.4–)1–10 × 0.4–4 cm, base narrowly cuneate or attenuate, margins entire, apex obtuse or rounded to acute, sometimes mucronate or glandular-mucronate, surfaces of floating leaves glabrous, those of emergent leaves glabrous to sparsely or densely strigillose at least adaxially;

bracts scarcely reduced.

stipules narrowly deltate, 0.1–0.2 × 0.1–0.15 mm;

sessile;

blade ovate to obovate proximally, lanceolate-linear to linear distally, 2–7 × 0.2–1(–1.5) cm, base cuneate, margins entire, apex acute to rounded, surfaces strigillose, densely so particularly along veins;

bracts usually very reduced in size, sublinear.

Inflorescences

on emergent stems sometimes in leafy racemes, flowers solitary in leaf axils;

bracteoles (rarely absent), deltate, squamate, 0.5–1 × 0.5–1 mm, apex acute, attached near base or on lower 1/2 of ovary.

sparse racemes, flowers solitary in leaf axils;

bracteoles attached in subopposite pairs on distal 1/3 of pedicel, lanceolate-linear, 0.7–3.2(–5) ×0.2–0.5 mm, margins entire, apex acute, surfaces strigillose.

Flowers

sepals narrowly deltate or lanceolate, 3–12 × 1.5–4 mm, apex acute or acuminate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely to densely hirtellous;

petals yellow, obpyramidal,7–24 × 4–13 mm, apex mucronate or emarginate, up-curved;

stamens 10(or 12), in 2 unequal series, bright yellow, filaments suberect or reflexed, shorter ones 1.4–4.2 mm, longer ones (1.9–)3.3–6 mm, anthers oblong, 0.5–2.2 mm;

ovary subcylindric or truncate, 6–20 × 1.5–3 mm, apex somewhat broader, glabrous or sparsely to densely hirtellous;

nectary disc slightly raised on ovary apex, 2–2.5 mm diam., lobed, glabrous or fringed with long hairs;

style (1.9–)2.4–7.3 mm, glabrous or sparsely to densely hirtellous on proximal 1/2, stigma flattened-globose, 0.9–1.2 × 1–2.5 mm, sometimes shallowly or deeply 5-lobed, as long as or exserted beyond anthers.

sepals strongly reflexed, narrowly ovate-deltate, 6–10 × 2.5–4.5 mm, margins entire, apex acute, surfaces finely strigillose to glabrate;

petals cordate, 14–19 × 13–15 mm, base attenuate, apex emarginate;

filaments opaque white, awl-shaped, 1.9–4.2 mm, anthers 2–4 × 0.6–1 mm;

ovary subcuboid to globose, 3–4 × 3–4 mm;

nectary disc elevated, domed, 0.8–1.4 mm diam., prominently 4-lobed, ringed with silky-curly hairs;

style 5–9.5 mm, glabrous, stigma capitate to hemispherical, 0.6–1.3 × 1.3–2.6 mm, shallowly 4-lobed, as long as or exserted beyond anthers.

Capsules

cylindric, subterete to obscurely 5-angled, straight or curved, 10–40 × 2–4 mm, with thick woody walls, irregularly and tardily dehiscent, pedicel 7–60(–90) mm.

subglobose to ellipsoid, 3.5–6.8 × 3.3–4.3 mm, 4-angled, angles not developed into wings, pedicel 6.5–17 mm.

Seeds

embedded in elongated piece of endocarp, 1–1.5 × 0.9–1.3 mm.

light brown, elliptic-oblong to reniform, 0.5–0.7 × 0.3–0.4 mm, surface cells elongate transversely to seed length or elongate parallel to length near raphe.

2n

= 16.

= 16.

Ludwigia peploides

Ludwigia virgata

Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Sandy savannas, pinelands, damp roadside ditches, margins of ponds, bogs, irrigated fields, usually within 75 miles of sea coast.
Elevation 0–300 m. (0–1000 ft.)
Distribution
from USDA
United States; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies (Cuba); Asia (China); Pacific Islands (Galapagos Islands) [Introduced in Europe (France), elsewhere in the Pacific Islands (New Zealand, Society Islands), Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; MS; NC; SC; VA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 4 (3 in the flora).

Ludwigia peploides consists of four subspecies more or less well defined geographically and morphologically, with three present in the flora area: subsp. glabrescens, subsp. montevidensis, and subsp. peploides (P. H. Raven 1963[1964]); these subspecies have ranges that are mostly distinct. Subspecies peploides has a wide distribution in the New World, from the southern United States south to Argentina. Subspecies glabrescens is widespread in eastern United States. Subspecies montevidensis occurs primarily in southern South America and scattered (probably introduced) in the southern United States, Australia, France, and New Zealand. Subspecies peploides and montevidensis occur together locally in California and Louisiana, where subsp. montevidensis is introduced. The ranges of subsp. glabrescens and peploides come together in Texas.

Subspecies stipulacea (Ohwi) P. H. Raven is known from eastern Asia (e China).

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

Key
1. Stems usually densely villous, rarely sparsely so; leaf blades not shiny, apices glandular-mucronate; capsules (20–)24–32 mm.
subsp. montevidensis
1. Stems glabrous or sparely villous; leaf blades shiny, apices usually eglandular-mucronate; capsules 10–40 mm.
→ 2
2. Principal leaf blades 0.8–4(–8.5) cm; petioles 0.2–2.5 cm; pedicels 10–35 mm; capsules 10–17(–25) mm; seeds 7–14 per locule.
subsp. peploides
2. Principal leaf blades (2–)4–10 cm; petioles 0.7–6 cm; pedicels 35–90 mm; capsule 25–40 mm; seeds 16–18 per locule.
subsp. glabrescens
Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Ludwigioideae > Ludwigia > sect. Jussiaea Onagraceae > subfam. Ludwigioideae > Ludwigia > sect. Ludwigia
Sibling taxa
L. alata, L. alternifolia, L. arcuata, L. bonariensis, L. brevipes, L. curtissii, L. decurrens, L. erecta, L. glandulosa, L. grandiflora, L. hexapetala, L. hirtella, L. lanceolata, L. leptocarpa, L. linearis, L. linifolia, L. maritima, L. microcarpa, L. octovalvis, L. palustris, L. peruviana, L. pilosa, L. polycarpa, L. ravenii, L. repens, L. simpsonii, L. spathulata, L. sphaerocarpa, L. suffruticosa, L. virgata
L. alata, L. alternifolia, L. arcuata, L. bonariensis, L. brevipes, L. curtissii, L. decurrens, L. erecta, L. glandulosa, L. grandiflora, L. hexapetala, L. hirtella, L. lanceolata, L. leptocarpa, L. linearis, L. linifolia, L. maritima, L. microcarpa, L. octovalvis, L. palustris, L. peploides, L. peruviana, L. pilosa, L. polycarpa, L. ravenii, L. repens, L. simpsonii, L. spathulata, L. sphaerocarpa, L. suffruticosa
Subordinate taxa
L. peploides subsp. glabrescens, L. peploides subsp. montevidensis, L. peploides subsp. peploides
Synonyms Jussiaea peploides, J. repens var. peploides, L. adscendens var. peploides Isnardia virgata
Name authority (Kunth) P. H. Raven: Reinwardtia 6: 393. (1964) Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 89. (1803)
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