Limosella aquatica
Encyclopedia
Limosella aquatica is a widespread species of flowering plant in the figwort family
known by the common name water mudwort. It is native to much of the temperate world, where it grows in many types of wet habitat. It is semiaquatic
, growing in moist land habitat such as meadows, in mud and wet sand next to water, and partly submersed or floating in the water. It is a fleshy annual herb forming low tufts in muddy substrate. The leaf is made up of a petiole
up to 30 centimeters long but usually quite a bit shorter, tipped with a flat spoon-shaped blade up to 3 centimeters long. The inflorescence
is an erect stalk bearing one tiny white to pink- or blue-tinted flower about 2 millimeters wide. The fruit is a capsule up to 5 millimeters wide containing many tiny seeds.
Scrophulariaceae
Scrophulariaceae, the figwort family, are a family of flowering plants. The plants are annual or perennial herbs with flowers with bilateral or rarely radial symmetry. Members of the Scrophulariaceae have a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority found in temperate areas, including...
known by the common name water mudwort. It is native to much of the temperate world, where it grows in many types of wet habitat. It is semiaquatic
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...
, growing in moist land habitat such as meadows, in mud and wet sand next to water, and partly submersed or floating in the water. It is a fleshy annual herb forming low tufts in muddy substrate. The leaf is made up of a petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
up to 30 centimeters long but usually quite a bit shorter, tipped with a flat spoon-shaped blade up to 3 centimeters long. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is an erect stalk bearing one tiny white to pink- or blue-tinted flower about 2 millimeters wide. The fruit is a capsule up to 5 millimeters wide containing many tiny seeds.