Water soldier | |
---|---|
Stratiotes aloides [1] | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Alismatales |
Family: | Hydrocharitaceae |
Subfamily: | Stratiotoideae Luersson |
Genus: | Stratiotes L. |
Species: | S. aloides |
Binomial name | |
Stratiotes aloides | |
Synonyms [2] | |
|
Stratiotes is a genus of submerged aquatic plant commonly known as water soldiers, [3] described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. [4] [5] Several specific names have been coined within the genus, but at present only one is recognized: Stratiotes aloides . native to Europe and NW Asia. [2]
moved to other genera: Enhalus Hydrocleys Ottelia
The leaves are serrate and very brittle, breaking easily when handled. Reproduction is generally by offsets, which may number five or more per plant. In the UK, male plants have rarely if ever been recorded, although some hermaphrodite flowers have been recorded from more southerly locations. Sexual reproduction is not known to occur. A characteristic of the genus is the habit of the plants rising to the surface at flowering time.
The plant appears to be associated with calcareous waters and there is a suggestion that changing levels of calcium carbonate on the leaves may explain the floating and submerging behaviour.
The rare dragonfly, the Norfolk hawker (Aeshna isosceles), relies on the presence of Stratiotes aloides as a food source for the smaller insects on which it feeds. The plant is very winter hardy.
Several fossil seeds of †Stratiotes kaltennordheimensis have been extracted from borehole samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland. [6]
Stratiotes aloides is commonly used in cool water ponds and aquariums in Europe.
Rubus is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, with over 1,350 species, commonly known as brambles.
Aralia, or spikenard, is a genus of the family Araliaceae, consisting of 68 accepted species of deciduous or evergreen trees, shrubs, and rhizomatous herbaceous perennials. The genus is native to Asia and the Americas, with most species occurring in mountain woodlands. Aralia plants vary in size, with some herbaceous species only reaching 50 centimetres (20 in) tall, while some are trees growing to 20 metres (66 ft) tall.
Campanula is the type genus of the Campanulaceae family of flowering plants. Campanula are commonly known as bellflowers and take both their common and scientific names from the bell-shaped flowers—campanula is Latin for "little bell".
Hydrocharitaceae is a flowering plant family including 16 known genera with a total of ca 135 known species, that including a number of species of aquatic plant, for instance the tape-grasses, the well known Canadian waterweed, and frogbit.
Phellodendron, or cork-tree, is a genus of deciduous, dioecious trees in the family Rutaceae, native to east and northeast Asia. It has leathery, pinnate leaves and yellow, clumped flowers. The name refers to the thick and corky bark of some species in the genus.
Cyperus is a large genus of about 700 species of sedges, distributed throughout all continents in both tropical and temperate regions.
Phyllanthus is the largest genus in the plant family Phyllanthaceae. Estimates of the number of species in this genus vary widely, from 750 to 1200. Phyllanthus has a remarkable diversity of growth forms including annual and perennial herbs, shrubs, climbers, floating aquatics, and pachycaulous succulents. Some have flattened leaflike stems called cladodes. It has a wide variety of floral morphologies and chromosome numbers and has one of the widest range of pollen types of any seed plant genus.
Menyanthes is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Menyanthaceae containing the single species Menyanthes trifoliata. The North American form is often referred to as M. trifoliata var. minor Michx. It is known in English by the common names bogbean and buckbean.
Andromeda polifolia, common name bog-rosemary, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only member of the genus Andromeda, and is only found in bogs in cold peat-accumulating areas. Andromeda glaucophylla is a synonym of A. polifolia var. latifolia.
Boehmeria is a genus of 47 species of flowering plants in the nettle family Urticaceae. Of the species, 33 are indigenous to the Old World and 14 to the New World; no species is indigenous to both the Old and New Worlds. The species include herbaceous perennials, shrubs and small trees. Although related to the similar-looking species of the stinging nettles of genus Urtica, species of Boehmeria do not have stinging hairs. Because of the similarity in appearance, some species are commonly called "false nettles".
Broussonetia is a genus of four species of trees in the family Moraceae, native to eastern Asia. These four species have high-quality fiber which consist of more than 90% of cellulose. They are traditionally applied for various daily necessities in South Eastern Asia and papermaking in East Asia.
Scirpus is a genus of grass-like species in the sedge family Cyperaceae many with the common names club-rush, wood club-rush or bulrush. They mostly inhabit wetlands and damp locations.
Schefflera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae with 13 species native to New Zealand and some Pacific islands.
Hydrocotyle, also called floating pennywort, water pennywort, Indian pennywort, dollar weed, marsh penny, thick-leaved pennywort and white rot, is a genus of prostrate, perennial aquatic or semi-aquatic plants formerly classified in the family Apiaceae, now in the family Araliaceae.
Polygonum aviculare or common knotgrass is a plant related to buckwheat and dock. It is also called prostrate knotweed, birdweed, pigweed and lowgrass. It is an annual found in fields and wasteland, with white flowers from June to October. It is widespread across many countries in temperate regions, apparently native to Eurasia, naturalized in temperate parts of the Southern Hemisphere.
Gratiola is a genus of plants in the family Plantaginaceae. Most species are known generally as hedgehyssops. It includes 29 species native to temperate North America and Eurasia, and to Morocco, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. The genus was previously included in the family Scrophulariaceae.
Stratiotes aloides, commonly known as water soldiers or water pineapple, is a submerged aquatic plant native to Europe and northwestern Asia. In Britain it was once common in East Anglia and still is in many places, particularly wet ditches and healthy ponds. It is the only species in the genus Stratiotes.
Najas marina is a species of aquatic plant known by the common names spiny water nymph, spiny naiad and holly-leaved naiad. It is an extremely widespread species, reported across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas and many oceanic islands. It can be found in many types of freshwater and brackish aquatic habitat, including bodies of alkaline water.
Patrinia is a genus of herbaceous plants in the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae). It includes 14 species native to grassy mountain habitats from eastern European Russia to China, Siberia, Korea, and Japan. These are unassuming clump-forming perennial plants having thin, erect stems with few leaves and bearing a terminal inflorescence with yellow or white flowers.