Ludwigia leptocarpa (Nutt.) H.Hara

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution

Nativa en Colombia; Alt. 0 - 1500 m.; Amazonia, Guayana y Serranía de La Macarena, Llanura del Caribe, Pacífico, Valle del Magdalena.

Morphology General Habit

Hierba, subarbusto, arbusto

Conservation

No Evaluada

Onagraceae, P. H. Raven. Flora Zambesiaca 4. 1978

Morphology General Habit

Robust hairy plants to 3 m. tall, often somewhat woody below, reclining at base but erect and well-branched, with erect floating pneumatophores arising from roots under water.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves 3·5–18 × 1–4 cm., long-hairy, broadly lanceolate, narrowly cuneate at base, the apex acuminate; main veins on each side of midrib 11–20; petiole 0·2–3·5 cm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracteoles

Bracteoles at base of ovary absent or rarely present, narrowly deltate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Sepals 5, rarely 4, 6 or 7, 5·5–11 × 1·5–3 mm., deltate-acuminate, long-hairy, with a narrow wing running down from the sinus between adjacent sepals to the apical portion of the ovary.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Petals 5–11 × 4–8 mm., obovate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens twice as many as the sepals; filaments 2–4 mm. long, the epipetalous ones shorter; anthers 1·2–1·6 mm. long, extrorse and thus not shedding pollen directly on the stigma.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pollen

Pollen shed in tetrads.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc

Disk slightly elevated, the base of each epipetalous stamen surrounded by a depressed nectary densely covered with matted white hairs.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style

Style 3–4·5 mm. long, glabrous; stigma 2–2·5 mm. across, c. 1 mm. high, globose, the upper 2/3 receptive.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Capsule 15–50 × 2·5–4 mm., relatively thin-walled, long-hairy, terete, dull light brown, with prominent ribs over the locules and less prominent ones over the septa, marked on the outside with bumps c. 0·5 mm. apart, corresponding to the position of the seeds, slowly and irregularly loculicidal; pedicels 2–20 mm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds 1–1·2 mm. long, uniseriate in each locule of the capsule, horizontal, shiny pale brown, finely pitted, obovoid; raphe much narrower than the body of the seed; each seed loosely embedded in an easily detached horseshoe-shaped segment of firm pale brown endocarp c. 1–1·5 mm. thick and c. 1 mm. high.

Cytology

Chromosome number n=24 (in African populations).

Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/

Vernacular

clavito, clavito de pantano, clavo de agua, guayabito de agua, palo de agua

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/120214361/120214367

Conservation

LC - least concern

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation

Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident

Onagraceae, J. P. M. Brenan. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:1. 1954

Morphology General Habit

Herb, sometimes slightly woody, to 6 ft. high

Morphology General Indumentum

Numerous, sometimes dense, spreading hairs, especially on young parts.

Onagraceae, J. P. M. Brenan. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1953

Morphology General Habit

Herb, sometimes slightly woody, 0.4–2 m. high, with more or less numerous sometimes dense spreading hairs especially on young parts, also with an “understorey” of more or less dense very short puberulous hairs (variants occur in the New World lacking the longer hairs or even completely glabrous).

Morphology Leaves

Leaves normally lanceolate to sometimes elliptic, variable in size according to position, mostly 3.5–15 cm. long, 1–4 cm. wide (only 2–3 mm. wide in a linear-leaved Cuban variant), usually acute at apex, lateral nerves 11–20 each side of midrib; petiole 2–20 mm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Sepals usually 5, sometimes 4, 6 or even 7, 5–10 mm. long, 1.5–2.25 mm. wide.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Petals yellow, obovate, 5–11 mm. long, 4.5–8 mm. wide.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens twice as many as sepals.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Apex of ovary, supporting the 3–4.5 mm. long style, flat or only slightly (to 0.75 mm.) raised.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Capsules thin-walled, slowly dehiscent, 1.5–4.5 (–5) cm. long, 2.5–4 mm. wide, marked on the outside with little bumps about 0.5 mm. apart, corresponding to the seeds; pedicels 0.2–2 cm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds uniseriate in each cell, horizontal, each surrounded by but free within a horseshoe-shaped piece of powdery brown endocarp about 1–1.5 mm. long and 1 mm. wide, the actual seed flattened oblong-ellipsoid, narrow-raphed, 0.8–1 mm. long, 0.5 mm. wide, pale brown.

Figures

Fig. 2/6, (p. 7).

Habitat

Swamps, ditches, rivers, ponds and lakes; less than 120-1280 m.

Distribution

widely distributed in tropical Africa from Sierra Leone and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan southwards to Portuguese East Africa, Angola and South-West Africain America from Georgia and Florida to the Argentineabsent from Asia T1 T4 T5 T8 U4 Z