Hydrocharis morsus-ranae

Illustrator: John Myers

Copyright: Flora of North America Association

Herbs, to 20 cm. Rhizomes absent; stStolon buds with 1 root. Leaves floating or, in dense vegetation, emergent; blade 1.2–6 × 1.3–6.3 cm; primary veins forming 75–90° angle with midvein, broadly curving, aerenchyma confined to midvein region (not margin to margin as in Limnobium), individual aerenchyma space (located ca. 1 mm from either side of midvein) 0.1–0.5 mm across its longest axis, 0.1–0.5 mm wide, 1 mm from midvein. Flowers: staminate flowers 1–5 in each spathe; pedicel to 4 cm; stamens 9–12 in 4 whorls; filaments basally not obviously connate; pistillate flowers solitary; pedicels to 9 cm; styles 2-fid for less than ½ length. Seeds 1–1.3 mm. 2n = 28 (Netherlands).

Phenology: Flowering spring–fall.
Habitat: Ponds, bays of rivers
Elevation: 10–50 m

Distribution

• Generated Map
• Legacy Map

Ont., Que., N.Y., Eurasia.

Discussion

Hydrocharis morsus-ranae was planted in ponds beside Dow’s Lake in the Central Experimental Farm Arboretum at Ottawa in 1932 (P. M. Catling and W. G. Dore 1982). It apparently escaped from these ponds; by 1939 it was found in the Rideau Canal and by 1967 in the St. Lawrence River from Montreal as far as Lake St. Peter. It had spread into Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and a couple of localities in New York (Catling and Dore 1982).

Selected References

Gadella, T. W. J. and E. Kliphuis. 1973. Chromosome numbers of flowering plants in The Netherlands. VI. Proc. K. Ned. Acad. Wet., Ser. C, 76: 303---311.

Lower Taxa

None.