Phyllanthus tenellus
Phyllanthus fluitans
Mascarene Island leaf-flower
floating spurge, red root floater
main stems terete, not winged, glabrous or scabridulous; ultimate branchlets subterete, not winged, glabrous or scabridulous.
terete, not winged, glabrous.
on main stems spiral, scalelike;
stipules not auriculate, reddish brown.;
leaves on ultimate branchlets distichous, well developed;
stipules not auriculate, pale green or pink with paler margins;
blade elliptic to obovate, 6–25 × 4–11 mm, base acute to rounded, apex acute to obtuse, both surfaces glabrous.
distichous; all well developed;
stipules auriculate, pale brown;
blade ± orbiculate, 9–17 mm diam., base cordate, apex rounded to shallowly emarginate, both surfaces papillate.
cymules or flowers solitary, proximal bisexual with 1–2 pistillate flowers and 2–3 staminate flowers, distal with 1 pistillate flower.
cymules, bisexual, with 1–2 staminate and 1–2 pistillate flowers, or flowers solitary.
staminate 0.5–1.5 mm, pistillate flexuous, capillary, and pendent in fruit, (2.5–)3–8 mm.
staminate 0.5–1 mm, pistillate spreading in fruit, 0.5–1 mm.
sepals 5, white except green midrib, flat, 0.4–0.7 mm;
nectary extrastaminal, 5 glands;
stamens 5, filaments distinct.
sepals (5–)6, white or greenish white, flat, 1–1.4 mm;
nectary extrastaminal, (5–)6 glands;
stamens 3, filaments distinct.
sepals 5, white except green midrib, flat, 0.6–0.8 mm, 1-veined;
nectary annular, unlobed.
sepals (5–)6, white or greenish white, flat, 0.8–1.2 mm, 1-veined;
nectary annular, unlobed to lobed.
1.7–1.9 mm diam., smooth.
2.5–3 mm diam., smooth.
uniformly brown, 0.8–0.9 mm, evenly papillate.
uniformly brown, 1–1.4 mm, verrucose.
= 26.
Phyllanthus tenellus
Phyllanthus fluitans
Phyllanthus tenellus is easily recognized by its long, capillary pistillate pedicels that are flexuous and pendent in fruit; it is native to the Mascarene Islands and perhaps to eastern Africa, other western Indian Ocean Islands, and the Arabian Peninsula, and is widely naturalized in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. It appears to have been introduced into Florida in the 1920s and is continuing to spread. Phyllanthus tenellus has been reported from Arkansas (E. Sundell et al. 1999) and California as a nursery weed (G. F. Hrusa, pers. comm.), and from Oklahoma in flower beds (B. W. Hoagland, pers. comm.), and may be expected to become naturalized in those states.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Phyllanthus fluitans, the only floating species in the genus, appears to be closely related to P. caroliniensis (H. Kathriarachchi et al. 2006). This popular aquarium plant was first discovered in the flora area in 2010 in the Peace River drainage, DeSoto County (G. J. Wilder and M. P. Sowinski 2010); it appears to be naturalized there despite intensive eradication efforts (M. P. Sowinski, pers. comm.).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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