Montia fontana |
Portulacaceae |
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annual water miner's-lettuce, blinks, spring water chickweed, water blinks, water chickweed, water montia |
purslane family |
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Habit | Plants annual or biennial, never bulbiferous. | Subshrubs [shrubs] or herbs, annual, biennial, or perennial, often succulent or fleshy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stems | prostrate or decumbent, 1–30 cm, freely rooting at nodes, forming mats. |
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Leaves | opposite, sessile; blade oblanceolate to rhombic, 2–20 × 0.5–10 mm. |
opposite, subopposite, or alternate and sometimes secund, sometimes rosulate or subrosulate, exstipulate (except Portulaca and Talinopsis, with nodal or axillary hairs regarded as stipular); blade margins mostly entire, occasionally dentate to crisped. |
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Inflorescences | leafy. |
axillary or terminal, cymose, racemose, paniculate, or umbellate, sometimes glomerate, spikelike, or with flowers solitary, open to congested. |
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Flowers | 1–8, slightly bilateral; sepals 1–1.5 mm; petals 5, connate proximally, white, unequal, 1–2 mm; stamens 3, anther pink or yellow. |
mostly radially symmetric, sometimes slightly irregular (in Montia); sepals 2–9; petals (1–)2–19 or sometimes absent, distinct or connate basally; stamens 1–many, opposite and sometimes basally adnate to petals; gynoecium 2–9-carpelled; ovary 1, superior (half-inferior to inferior in Portulaca), 1-locular throughout or initially plurilocular and becoming 1-locular distally (in Portulaca), placentation basal or free-central, ovules 1-many; style present, sometimes branched, or absent; stigmas 1–9. |
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Fruits | capsular. |
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Seeds | 0.7–1.2 mm, tuberculate; elaiosome present. |
smooth or sculptured, with or without strophioles or elaiosomes. |
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x | = 4–9, 11, 13, 15, 23. |
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2n | = 20, 40. |
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Montia fontana |
Portulacaceae |
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Phenology | Flowering spring. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Pools, springs, meadows, other wet or moist places | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 0-3700 m (0-12100 ft) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
AK; CA; ID; MA; ME; MT; NH; NV; NY; OR; UT; VT; WA; WY; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; YT; SPM; Central America; South America; Africa; Greenland; Asia; Europe; Arctic regions
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Primarily Southern Hemisphere; poorly represented in Eurasia |
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Discussion | Montia fontana displays a multitude of forms varying in stature, leaf shape, and seed size. Segregate species, varieties, and subspecies have been named. Based on my study of worldwide collections of the species, much variation in M. fontana is attributable to phenotypic differentiation of ramets produced by local environmental conditions and unrelated to genetic variation. Until macromolecular or other studies shed light on the variation in M. fontana, it seems pointless to recognize infraspecific taxa or segregate species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Genera 20–30, species ca. 500 (9 genera, 91 species in the flora). The eastern New World species of Portulacaceae seem to have a closer relationship with the African species, and the western New World species a closer one with the Australian species, than the two New World groups have with each other to each other. The outer perianth segments, referred to herein as sepals, are held by some (e.g., T. Eckardt 1976) to be modified bracteoles, the petals then representing the true sepals. However, the traditional interpretation, adopted here and in most North American floras, still finds current support (R. C. Carolin 1987). A comparable situation prevails with respect to the cauline leaves in Claytonia and other genera, which are widely interpreted to be foliaceous bracts (R. C. Carolin 1987); here again, as is appropriate in a descriptive context, the traditional terminology is employed. In Talinopsis and Portulaca, the stipular nature of the nodal or axillary hairs also has been a matter of discussion. The question was revisited by R. Geesink (1969), who denied their stipular origin. The relationships of the family are not a matter of dispute (A. Cronquist 1981; R. C. Carolin 1987); the same cannot be said for the relationships and delimitations of the genera, which have always been labile. They are, at present, the subject of active research, which has led to the current acceptance of Phemeranthus and Cistanthe. Changes in the generic classification are discussed in the treatments of the genera concerned. Because of the uncertain relationships, the genera and species are listed alphabetically. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 4, p. 487. | FNA vol. 4, p. 457. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Portulacaceae > Montia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Synonyms | Claytonia hallii, M. clara, M. funstonii, M. hallii, M. minor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 87. (1753) | Adanson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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