View source for Marsilea

{{Treatment/ID
|accepted_name=Marsilea
|accepted_authority=Linnaeus
|publications={{Treatment/Publication
|title=Sp. Pl.
|place=2: 1099. 1753; Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 485, 1754
|year=1754
}}
|common_names=Water-clover;pepperwort
|basionyms=
|synonyms=
|hierarchy=Marsileaceae;Marsilea
|hierarchy_nav=<div class="higher-taxa"><div class="higher-taxon"><small>family</small>[[Marsileaceae]]</div><div class="higher-taxon"><small>genus</small>[[Marsilea]]</div></div>
|etymology=for Count Luigi Marsigli (1656–1730), Italian mycologist at Bologna
|volume=Volume 2
|mention_page=
|treatment_page=
}}<!--

--><span class="statement" id="st-d0_s0" data-properties="plant habitat;plant habitat;colony density;colony density"><b>Plants </b>aquatic or amphibious, forming diffuse or dense colonies.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s1" data-properties="root orientation"><b>Roots </b>arising at nodes, sometimes also on internodes.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s2" data-properties="leaf duration;leaf architecture;region location;leaf growth form or location;leaf size"><b>Leaves </b>deciduous in temperate regions, heteromorphic, floating leaves averaging larger than land leaves.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s3" data-properties="petiole shape;petiole orientation;petiole growth form;petiole architecture or arrangement;leaf growth form or location"><b>Petiole </b>filiform, stiffly erect or procumbent in land leaves, lax in floating leaves.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s4" data-properties="blade shape;pinna count"><b>Blade </b>palmately divided into 4 pinnae.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s5" data-properties="pinna shape;pinna shape;pinna shape;streak coloration;streak coloration;streak coloration;leaf growth form or location"><b>Pinnae </b>cuneate or obdeltate, pulvinate at base, frequently with numerous red or brown streaks abaxially in floating leaves.</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s6" data-properties="sporocarp location;sporocarp fixation;stalk architecture;stalk architecture;tip prominence;tooth position or shape"><b>Sporocarps </b>borne on branched or unbranched stalks at or near bases of petioles, aboveground (except in Marsilea ancylopoda), attached laterally to stalk apex (attached portion called raphe), tip of stalk often protruding as bump or tooth (proximal tooth), some species also with tooth distal to stalk apex (distal tooth);</span> <span class="statement" id="st-d0_s7" data-properties="sporocarp pubescence;sporocarp dehiscence;valve count">sporocarps densely to sparsely hairy, less so with age, dehiscing into 2 valves.</span><!--

-->{{Treatment/Body
|distribution=Nearly worldwide.
|discussion=<p>Species identification is virtually impossible without fertile material. The common name water-clover refers to the resemblance of the leaves to those of clover (Trifolium spp., Fabaceae); pepperwort refers to the sporocarp, which approximates a peppercorn in size and shape.</p><!--
--><p>Ca. 45 species (6 in the flora with 5 native, 1 introduced).</p><!--
--><p>Species Ca. 45 (6 in the flora with 5 native, 1 introduced)</p>
|tables=
|references={{Treatment/Reference
|id=johnson1985a
|text=Johnson, D. M. 1985. New records for longevity of Marsilea sporocarps. Amer. Fern J. 75: 30--31.
}}{{Treatment/Reference
|id=johnson1988a
|text=Johnson, D. M. 1988. Proposal to conserve Marsilea L. (Pteridophyta: Marsileaceae) with Marsilea quadrifolia as typ. conserv. Taxon 37: 483--486.
}}
}}<!--

--><div class="treatment-key">
==Key==
<div class="treatment-key-group">
  
{| class="wikitable fna-keytable"
|-id=key-0-1
|1
|Roots both at nodes and sparsely (1–3) along internodes; stalks of sporocarps frequently branched.
|[[Marsilea quadrifolia|Marsilea quadrifolia]]
|-id=key-0-1
|1
|Roots only at nodes; stalks of sporocarps branched or unbranched.
|[[#key-0-2| > 2]]
|-id=key-0-2
|2
|Distal tooth of sporocarps 0.4–1.2 mm, acute.
|[[Marsilea vestita|Marsilea vestita]]
|-id=key-0-2
|2
|Distal tooth of sporocarps absent or to 0.4 mm and blunt.
|[[#key-0-3| > 3]]
|-id=key-0-3
|3
|Sporocarps 6–9 mm, strongly ascending; stalks usually branched.
|[[Marsilea macropoda|Marsilea macropoda]]
|-id=key-0-3
|3
|Sporocarps 2.4–6 mm, perpendicular to strongly nodding, i.e., stalk curved or bent; stalks unbranched.
|[[#key-0-4| > 4]]
|-id=key-0-4
|4
|Stalks recurved or prostrate, often hooked again at base of raphe; sporocarps borne underground or below stem level.
|[[Marsilea ancylopoda|Marsilea ancylopoda]]
|-id=key-0-4
|4
|Stalks erect, never hooked at base of raphe; sporocarps borne aboveground or above stem level.
|[[#key-0-5| > 5]]
|-id=key-0-5
|5
|Sporocarps 2–3 mm wide, proximal tooth of sporocarp 0.2 mm or absent.
|[[Marsilea mollis|Marsilea mollis]]
|-id=key-0-5
|5
|Sporocarps 3.6–4 mm wide, proximal tooth of sporocarp 0.2–0.6 mm and curved away from sporocarp.
|[[Marsilea oligospora|Marsilea oligospora]]
|}
</div></div><!--

-->{{#Taxon:
name=Marsilea
|author=David M. Johnson
|authority=Linnaeus
|rank=genus
|parent rank=family
|synonyms=
|basionyms=
|family=Marsileaceae
|distribution=Nearly worldwide.
|reference=johnson1985a;johnson1988a
|publication title=Sp. Pl.
|publication year=1754
|special status=
|source xml=https://jpend@bitbucket.org/aafc-mbb/fna-fine-grained-xml.git/src/287ef3db526bd807d435a3c7423ef2df1e951227/V2/V2_14.xml
|genus=Marsilea
|blade shape=divided
|colony density=dense;diffuse
|leaf architecture=heteromorphic
|leaf duration=deciduous
|leaf growth form or location=floating;floating;floating
|leaf size=larger
|petiole architecture or arrangement=lax
|petiole growth form=procumbent
|petiole orientation=erect
|petiole shape=filiform
|pinna count=4
|pinna shape=pulvinate;obdeltate;cuneate
|plant habitat=amphibious;aquatic
|region location=temperate
|root orientation=arising
|sporocarp dehiscence=dehiscing
|sporocarp fixation=attached
|sporocarp location=aboveground
|sporocarp pubescence=hairy
|stalk architecture=unbranched;branched
|streak coloration=brown;red;numerous
|tip prominence=protruding
|tooth position or shape=distal
|valve count=2
}}<!--

-->[[Category:Treatment]][[Category:Marsileaceae]]