Hippuris
Encyclopedia
Hippuris, the Mare's tail, was previously the sole genus in the family Hippuridaceae. Following genetic
research by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
, it has now been transferred to the family Plantaginaceae
, with Hippuridaceae being reduced to synonymy under Plantaginaceae.
It includes one to three species depending on taxonomic interpretation. Some authorities only accept the first species of those listed below, treating the other two as synonyms of it:
They are aquatic plant
s found in shallow pond
s and stream
s, both slow-moving and fast-flowing. This flowering plant is sometimes mistakenly identified as the non-flowering horsetail
.
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
research by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, or APG, refers to an informal international group of systematic botanists who came together to try to establish a consensus on the taxonomy of flowering plants that would reflect new knowledge about plant relationships discovered through phylogenetic studies., three...
, it has now been transferred to the family Plantaginaceae
Plantaginaceae
Plantaginaceae Juss. or plantain family, are a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales. The type genus is Plantago L..In older classifications it used to be the only family of the order Plantaginales, but numerous phylogenetic studies, summarized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, have...
, with Hippuridaceae being reduced to synonymy under Plantaginaceae.
It includes one to three species depending on taxonomic interpretation. Some authorities only accept the first species of those listed below, treating the other two as synonyms of it:
- Common mare's tailCommon Mare's TailThe Common Mare's tail, Hippuris vulgaris, is a common aquatic plant of Eurasia and North America.The species is also sometimes called Horsetail, a name which is better reserved to the Horsetails of genus Equisetum...
, Hippuris vulgaris- Mountain mare's tail, Hippuris montana
- Fourleaf mare's tail, Hippuris tetraphylla
They are 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 found in shallow pond
Pond
A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural...
s and stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
s, both slow-moving and fast-flowing. This flowering plant is sometimes mistakenly identified as the non-flowering horsetail
Horsetail
Equisetum is the only living genus in the Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds.Equisetum is a "living fossil", as it is the only living genus of the entire class Equisetopsida, which for over one hundred million years was much more diverse and...
.