Hydrocotyle verticillata Thunb.

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. 10 - 300 m.; Llanura del Caribe, Valle del Magdalena.

Morphology General Habit

Hierba

Conservation

No Evaluada

Umbelliferae, J. F. M. Cannon. Flora Zambesiaca 4. 1978

Morphology General Habit

Glabrous creeping herb, rooting freely at the nodes; stems delicate, terete, brownish-white.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves peltate, on long petioles up to 15 cm.

Morphology Leaves Leaf lamina

Lamina up to 45 (60) mm. in diameter, circular to broadly elliptic, with 8–13 main veins radiating from the petiole; margin shallowly crenately lobed.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescence an interrupted verticillate spike, approximately equal in length to the subtending leaf (axis occasionally branched to produce 2 or more parallel spikes).

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers small, inconspicuous, 2–7 in each verticil, initially closely packed together, the axis only expanding to separate the verticils as the fruit begins to mature.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit 2 × 4 mm., reddish-brown, laterally flattened, broadly ellipsoid, base cuneate, pedicel 1 mm. to obsolete; apex broadly and shallowly emarginate, stylopodium depressed to almost obsolete, styles short and spreading. Fruit ribs well developed, commissure scarcely depressed.

Umbelliferae, C.C. Townsend. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1989

Morphology General Habit

Glabrous creeping herb, rooting freely with white, slender rootlets from the nodes; stem slender, terete, pale greenish or brownish.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves peltate, the lamina mostly l–5(–6)cm. in diameter, with 9–12 shallow, entire or shallowly and narrowly notched or subcrenulate lobes terminating the radiating nerves; petiole slender, 3–16 cm.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescence an interrupted spike of 1–5 umbels, the lowest 2 umbels being 5–12 mm. apart in fruit; peduncle 3.5–8 cm. Umbels (2–)3–5(–7)-flowered, all initially approximate but separating as fruit begins to form; involucre of 3–5 purplish, membranous, oblong-ovate minute bracts.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Petals purplish green, narrowly triangular, blunt, ± 0.75 mm.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit strongly laterally compressed, broader than long, purplish brown when ripe, 2.75–3.5 mm. wide, the ribs sharply defined with very narrow greenish margins, shortly (± 0.75–1 mm.) pedicellate or sessile, truncate or very shortly and abruptly cuneate at the base, apex broadly and shallowly emarginate; stylopodia ± obsolete; styles spreading, slender, ± 0.5 mm.

Figures

Fig. 1/4, 5.

Habitat

Creeping among other vegetation in swamps and by lakes and pools, sometimes running out into the water and floating; 1130–1950 m.

Distribution

widespread in the tropics and subtropics of both Old and New Worlds T1 T3 U2 U4

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

Morphology General Habit

Glabrous herb, rooting at the nodes; stems slender, terete

Morphology Leaves

Leaves peltate, the blade up to 6 cm in diam., with 9–12 very short, entire to crenulate lobes terminating the radiating nerves; petiole up to 15 cm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescence an interrupted spike of 1–5 umbels; peduncle 3.5–8 cm long; umbels (2–)3–5(–7)-flowered, gradually separating as fruits begin to form; involucre of 3–5 membranous bracts c. 1 mm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Petals greenish or purplish, obtuse, c. 0.8 mm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruits sessile or subsessile, broader than long, c. 3–4 mm wide, truncate at the base, shallowly emarginate at the apex; ribs prominent; styles spreading, slender, c. 0.5 mm long.

Distribution

N2 in the tropics and subtropics of both the Old and the New World.

Ecology

Altitude c. 1300 m.

Note

First record for Somalia (near Markat SE of Laasqoray at 10°59’N, 48°30’E).

Distribution

Biogeografic region: Caribbean. Elevation range: 10–300 m a.s.l. Native to Colombia. Colombian departments: Atlántico, Bogotá DC, Huila.

Habit

Herb.

Ecology

Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: shrubland, artificial - terrestrial.

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