Alisma
Encyclopedia
Alisma is a genus of flowering plant
s in the family Alismataceae
, members of which are commonly known as water-plantains. The genus consists of aquatic plant
s with leaves
either floating or submerged, found in a variety of still water habitats around the world (nearly worldwide). The flower
s are hermaphrodite
, and are arranged in panicle
s, raceme
s, or umbel
s. Alisma flowers have six stamen
s, numerous free carpels in a single whorl, each with 1 ovule, and subventral styles. The fruit is an achene
with a short beak.
The nineteenth century British
art and social critic John Ruskin
believed that the particular curve of the leaf-ribs of Alisma represented a model of 'divine proportion
' and helped shape his theory of Gothic architecture
.
Copóg Phádraig ("leaf of Patrick") is the Irish name for the water-plantain and is reputed to ward off fairies.
In North America two common plants genus exist, Alisma subcordatum
and A. plantago-aquatica
. Water plantain are perennial plants. These herbs are usually emergent plants 0.1 - 1 m high. They have broad leaves that can be either tapered or rounded at the base. When submerged, the plant produces ribbon-like leaves. Inflorescence are highly branched. When flowering, they produce perfect flowers white and pinkish in color. The fruit are small with flat-sided nutlets in a whorl and 2.5 - 3 mm in length. These herbs usually flower in late May to early September, but can vary with conditions.
Water-plantains are wetland
plants and found in saturated soils and shallow water as well as marsh
es, wooded swamp
s, shrub swamps and flooded farmland. When introduced to an area, water plantain can rapidly reproduce. The plant is common to regions of northern Minnesota and readily found on Lake Plantagenet.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the family Alismataceae
Alismataceae
The water-plantains are a family of flowering plants, comprising 11 genera and between 85-95 species. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the greatest number of species in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
, members of which are commonly known as water-plantains. The genus consists of aquatic plant
Aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...
s with leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
either floating or submerged, found in a variety of still water habitats around the world (nearly worldwide). The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are hermaphrodite
Plant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
, and are arranged in panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
s, raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s, or umbel
Umbel
An umbel is an inflorescence which consists of a number of short flower stalks which are equal in length and spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs....
s. Alisma flowers have six stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s, numerous free carpels in a single whorl, each with 1 ovule, and subventral styles. The fruit is an achene
Achene
An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...
with a short beak.
The nineteenth century British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
art and social critic John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
believed that the particular curve of the leaf-ribs of Alisma represented a model of 'divine proportion
Golden ratio
In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio of the sum of the quantities to the larger quantity is equal to the ratio of the larger quantity to the smaller one. The golden ratio is an irrational mathematical constant, approximately 1.61803398874989...
' and helped shape his theory of Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
.
Copóg Phádraig ("leaf of Patrick") is the Irish name for the water-plantain and is reputed to ward off fairies.
In North America two common plants genus exist, Alisma subcordatum
Alisma subcordatum
Alisma subcordatum is a perennial aquatic plant in the Water-plantain family . This plant grows to about 3 feet in height with lance to oval shaped leaves rising from bulbous corms with fibrous roots. Any leaves that form underwater are weak and quick to rot; they rarely remain on adult plants...
and A. plantago-aquatica
Alisma plantago-aquatica
The Common Water-plantain , also known as Mad-dog weed, is a perennial flowering plant native to most of the Northern Hemisphere, in Europe, northern Asia, and North America. It is found on mud or in fresh waters....
. Water plantain are perennial plants. These herbs are usually emergent plants 0.1 - 1 m high. They have broad leaves that can be either tapered or rounded at the base. When submerged, the plant produces ribbon-like leaves. Inflorescence are highly branched. When flowering, they produce perfect flowers white and pinkish in color. The fruit are small with flat-sided nutlets in a whorl and 2.5 - 3 mm in length. These herbs usually flower in late May to early September, but can vary with conditions.
Water-plantains are wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
plants and found in saturated soils and shallow water as well as marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es, wooded swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
s, shrub swamps and flooded farmland. When introduced to an area, water plantain can rapidly reproduce. The plant is common to regions of northern Minnesota and readily found on Lake Plantagenet.
Species
- Alisma canaliculatum A.Braun & C.D.Bouché
- Alisma gramineumAlisma gramineumAlisma gramineum is a small aquatic plant in the water-plantain family. It has several common names including narrowleaf water-plantain, ribbonleaf water-plantain, and grass-leaved water-plantain. It grows in mud or submerged in shallow fresh or brackish water in marshy areas. The leaves and tiny...
Lej. - Alisma lanceolatumAlisma lanceolatumAlisma lanceolatum is a species of aquatic plant in the water plantain family known by the common name lanceleaf water plantain, and also Narrow leaved water plantain...
WitheringWilliam WitheringWilliam Withering was an English botanist, geologist, chemist, physician and the discoverer of digitalis.-Introduction:... - Alisma nanum D.F.Cui
- Alisma plantago-aquaticaAlisma plantago-aquaticaThe Common Water-plantain , also known as Mad-dog weed, is a perennial flowering plant native to most of the Northern Hemisphere, in Europe, northern Asia, and North America. It is found on mud or in fresh waters....
L. - Alisma subcordatumAlisma subcordatumAlisma subcordatum is a perennial aquatic plant in the Water-plantain family . This plant grows to about 3 feet in height with lance to oval shaped leaves rising from bulbous corms with fibrous roots. Any leaves that form underwater are weak and quick to rot; they rarely remain on adult plants...
Raf.Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-SchmaltzConstantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz, as he is known in Europe, was a nineteenth-century polymath who made notable contributions to botany, zoology, the study of prehistoric earthworks in North America and Mesoamerican ancient linguistics.Rafinesque was eccentric, and is often portrayed as an... - Alisma trivialeAlisma trivialeAlisma triviale is a perennial semi-aquatic or aquatic plant in the Water-plantain family . It grows in shallow water or mud. Northern water plantain is native to Canada, the United States, and Northern Mexico....
PurshFrederick Traugott PurshFrederick Traugott Pursh was a German-American botanist.Born in Grossenhain, Saxony, to the name Friedrich Traugott Pursh, he was educated at Dresden Botanical Gardens, and emigrated to the United States in 1799... - Alisma wahlenbergii (Holmb.) Juz.