Araceae

Wolffiella Hegelm.

First published in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 21: 303 (1895)
This genus is accepted
The native range of this genus is America, Africa to Arabian Peninsula.

Descriptions

M. Thulin. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1–4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Distribution
Eight species in tropical or subtropical Africa and America.
Morphology Leaves
Fronds floating or submerged, flat
Morphology Roots
Roots absent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Floral pit dorsal, without a spathe, with 1 male and 1 female flower
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Anthers
Anther thecae 1-celled
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit slightly compressed, 1-seeded; seed smooth.
[FSOM]

CATE Araceae, 17 Dec 2011. araceae.e-monocot.org

Diagnostic
Free floating aquatic plants, reduced to small, leaf-like, poorly differentiated fronds; roots and veins lacking, crystal cells lacking, seeds nearly smooth. Differs from Wolffia in having fronds flat, with air spaces, daughter fronds produced in a terminal flat pouch and flowers originating in a cavity at the side of the median line of the upper surface.
General Description
Fronds thin, orbicular oblong to linear or falcate; terminal pouche triangular and flat; frond with 1 layer of air spaces; flowers originating in a cavity (2 cavities in W. welwitschii) at the side of the median line of the upper surface of the frond. pistil with 1 atropous ovule.
Distribution
America, Africa.
[CATE]

Lemnaceae, F. N. Hepper. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1973

Morphology General Habit
Small aquatic herb, submerged except for a portion of each thallus at water-level where a few stomata are present
Morphology General Thallus
Thallus thin, undulate and falcate; daughter thallus budding from a flattened-conical pouch, sometimes forming a chain of several individuals in still water
Morphology Roots
Roots absent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers rarely produced in 2 pits at either side of mid-line on upper surface, 1 ♂ flower (with 1 stamen) and 1 ♀ flower occurring in each pit
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Style short; ovule 1, orthotropous
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit with persistent style
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seed spherical-turbinate; testa reticulate.
[FTEA]

Lemnaceae, F. N. Hepper. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1973

Morphology General Habit
Small aquatic herbs, floating on the surface of pools
Morphology General Thallus
Daughter thallus budding from a symmetric pouch opening by a transverse slit with a longmembranous, ± widened median stipe on the underside Thallus flat, with air-spaces, upper surface provided with numerous stomata
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers in a solitary lateral or almost median pit.
[FTEA]

Sources

  • CATE Araceae

    • Haigh, A., Clark, B., Reynolds, L., Mayo, S.J., Croat, T.B., Lay, L., Boyce, P.C., Mora, M., Bogner, J., Sellaro, M., Wong, S.Y., Kostelac, C., Grayum, M.H., Keating, R.C., Ruckert, G., Naylor, M.F. and Hay, A., CATE Araceae, 17 Dec 2011.
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0