Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Aquatic herbs, annual or perennial, stout, to 70 cm, leaves emersed or submersed; submersed leaves mostly absent.

Stems: Rhizomes present.

Roots: Roots not septate.

Leaves: Leaves simple. Spirally arranged. Blades elliptic, lanceolate, or ovate. Base truncate or occasionally cordate to tapering. Blade with translucent markings present as distinct lines. Petioles terete (cylindrical) to triangular, 2–36 cm. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Inflorescences racemes, rarely panicles, of 1–9 whorls, each 1–3(–4)-flowered, erect, 1.5–40 ´ 1.7–50 cm, not proliferating; peduncles 3–5-ridged, 2.1–57 cm; rachis triangular; bracts distinct, lanceolate, 0.3–2.5 cm, coarse, margins scarious. pedicels spreading to ascending, 0.6–2.8 cm. Flowers 6–11 mm wide. Sepals 3, spreading to recurved, 9–13-veined, veins not papillate. Petals 3, white, entire. Stamens 9–15; anthers versatile. Ovary superior; pistils 45–200.

Fruit: Fruits oblanceolate; plump; 3–5-ribbed; abaxially 2-keeled; 0.9–3.2 ´ 0.6–2.5 mm; glands 1–2; beak terminal; 0.6–1.3 mm. Seeds with a U-shaped embryo; endosperm absent.

Ploidy: 2n = 22

Habitat:

Elevation Range: