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Raven's primrose-willow

Long Beach primrose-willow, ludwigiantha brevipes

Habit Herbs slender, rarely with aerenchyma when base submerged, forming slender, glabrate stolons 10–18 cm, 0.6–1.5 mm thick, occasionally bearing flowers and fruits. Herbs creeping and rooting at nodes, sometimes forming large mats.
Stems

erect, slightly ridged, usually well branched, (15–)35–90 cm, densely hirtellous.

prostrate, ascending or erect at tips, terete, well branched, 20–70 cm, glabrous or, sometimes, minutely strigillose on leaf margins and inflorescence.

Leaves

alternate;

stipules lanceolate to broadly deltate, 0.2–0.5 × 0.1–0.3 mm;

stolons: petiole 0.1–0.3 cm, blade elliptic to orbiculate, 1–1.8 × 0.6–1.4 cm, base attenuate, apex rounded to acute;

stems: petiole narrowly winged, 0.1–0.8 cm, blade narrowly lanceolate-elliptic, 1.3–6.5 × 0.4–1.5 cm, base attenuate, margins entire with minute hydathodal glands, apex acute, surfaces densely hirtellous;

bracts not much reduced.

opposite;

stipules narrowly deltate, 0.05–0.15 × 0.05–0.1 mm;

petiole narrowly winged, 0.2–0.8 cm, blades on submerged stems linear, 3.2–4.7 × 0.2–0.3 cm, those on emergent ones oblanceolate-elliptic to narrowly oblanceolate, (0.7–)1–1.7(–2) × 0.2–0.7(–1.1) cm, base very narrowly cuneate or attenuate, margins entire, apex acute;

bracts not reduced.

Inflorescences

leafy racemes, flowers solitary in leaf axils;

bracteoles attached near base of ovary, lanceolate or elliptic to narrowly so, (1.5–)2–4.3 ×0.3–0.9 mm, apex acuminate, surfaces hirtellous.

sometimes few-flowered, erect racemes, flowers paired in leaf axils of prostrate stems;

bracteoles attached in opposite pairs at base of ovary or on pedicel distally, linear, 1–3(–4.5) × 0.1–0.7 mm, apex acuminate.

Flowers

sepals ascending-spreading, green, broadly ovate-deltate, 1.5–3 × 1.4–2.1 mm, margins entire, apex acuminate, surfaces densely hirtellous;

petals 0;

filaments light green, 0.7–1.1 mm, anthers 0.3–0.4 × 0.4–0.5 mm;

pollen shed in tetrads;

ovary obovoid to obconic, 2.8–3.5 × 2–3 mm;

nectary disc elevated 0.3–0.4 mm on ovary apex, light green, 1.4–2.5 mm diam., 4-lobed, glabrous;

style light green, 0.3–0.5 mm, glabrous, stigma clavate to subcapitate, 0.4–0.6 × 0.3–0.5 mm, not exserted beyond anthers.

sepals slightly reflexed at anthesis, ascending in fruit, light green, ovate-deltate or narrowly so, (3.5–)4–5(–6) × 1.7–3 mm, with 3 parallel veins, margins strigillose and finely serrulate, apex narrowly acute to elongate-acuminate, surfaces glabrous;

petals sometimes caducous, oblong-spatulate, 4.5–5.5 × 1.5–3 mm, base attenuate, apex obtuse;

filaments spreading, pale cream, 1.8–2.5 mm, anthers 0.7–1 × 0.5–0.7 mm;

pollen shed in very loose tetrads;

ovary obconic-cylindric, subterete or scarcely 4-angled, 3–5 × 2–2.5 mm;

nectary disc elevated 0.5–0.7 mm on ovary apex, bright yellow, 1.7–2.3 mm diam., 4-lobed, glabrate;

style cream, 1.1–1.7 mm, stigma cream, broadly capitate, 0.4–0.6 × 0.5–0.8 mm, often exserted beyond spreading stamens.

Capsules

oblong-obovoid, subterete to scarcely 4-angled, (3–)4–5(–5.3) × 2.5–3.5(–4) mm, hard-walled, irregularly dehiscent, pedicel 0.2–0.5 mm.

clavate, subterete to obscurely 4-angled, sometimes slightly curved, 6–10.5 × 2.5–4 mm, hard-walled, irregularly dehiscent, pedicel (4.5–)6–15(–20) mm.

Seeds

light brown, elliptic-oblong with slightly curved ends, 0.5–0.7 ×0.3–0.4 mm, surface cells elongate transversely to seed length.

light to dark brown, ellipsoid, 0.6–0.7 × 0.3–0.5 mm, surface cells transversely elongate.

2n

= 32.

= 48.

Ludwigia ravenii

Ludwigia brevipes

Phenology Flowering Jul–Sep. Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat Wet, peaty habitats, ditches, margins of ponds, bogs, swamps. Wet soil or sand along edges of ponds, lakes, marshes, or rivers, moist dune hollows, seasonal ponds.
Elevation 0–100 m. (0–300 ft.) 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; NC; SC; VA
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; NC; NJ; SC; VA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Ludwigia ravenii is an uncommon species occurring in scattered populations in coastal southeastern Virginia and eastern North Carolina, with single disjunct populations in southeastern South Carolina and northeastern Florida. C. I. Peng (1989) observed its similarity to L. pilosa by virtue of its dense, hirtellous pubescence, but noted its smaller, more consistently autogamous flowers. It is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.

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

The hexaploid Ludwigia brevipes is mainly restricted to the Atlantic coastal plain from central and eastern South Carolina to eastern North Carolina and extreme southeastern Virginia. The type collection of L. brevipes from middle New Jersey remains the only disjunct population north of the main range of this species more than 100 years after it was found. In 1988, an isolated population was found in the panhandle of Florida (Escambia County, Burkhalter 11065, MO) far to the southwest of the main range of L. brevipes; other reports of the species from Florida were erroneous (C. I. Peng 1989).

Ludwigia brevipes is known to hybridize with L. palustris producing the sterile L. ×lacustris Eames.

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

Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Ludwigioideae > Ludwigia > sect. Isnardia Onagraceae > subfam. Ludwigioideae > Ludwigia > sect. Isnardia
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. peploides, L. peruviana, L. pilosa, L. polycarpa, L. repens, L. simpsonii, L. spathulata, L. sphaerocarpa, L. suffruticosa, L. virgata
L. alata, L. alternifolia, L. arcuata, L. bonariensis, 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, L. virgata
Synonyms Ludwigiantha brevipes
Name authority C. I. Peng: Syst. Bot. 9: 129, fig. 1. (1984) (Long) Eames: Rhodora 35: 228. (1933) — (as Ludvigia)
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