The water-plantains (Alismataceae) are a family of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s, comprising 19 genera (17 extant and 2 fossil) and 117 species. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the greatest number of species in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Most of the species are herbaceous aquatic plants growing in

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

es and

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...

Description

Most Alismataceae are robust

perennials A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...

, but some may be

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

or perennial, depending on water conditions — they are normally perennial in permanent waters, annual in more seasonal conditions but there are exceptions. The stems are

corm A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word ' ...

-like or stoloniferous. Juvenile and submerse leaves are often

linear Linearity is the property of a mathematical relationship ('' function'') that can be graphically represented as a straight line. Linearity is closely related to '' proportionality''. Examples in physics include rectilinear motion, the linear ...

, whilst more mature and emerse leaves can be linear to

ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe *Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd *Vates In modern English, the nouns vates () and ova ...

or even sagittate. Most have a distinct petiole, with a sheathed base. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is usually compound with whorls of branches, though some are

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

-like, and others have solitary

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s. The flowers are regular, bisexual or unisexual. There are three

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s which usually persist in the

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

. Three petals, usually conspicuous, white, pink, purple, occasionally with yellow or purple spots. The petals rarely last more than one day. In ''

Burnatia ''Burnatia'' is a genus in the family Alismataceae. It includes only one currently recognized species, ''Burnatia enneandra''. It is native to tropical and southern Africa from Senegal to Tanzania to South Africa South Africa, officially ...

'' and '' Wiesneria'' the petals are minute and even occasionally absent in female flowers. Stamens are 3, 6, 9 or numerous. The ovary is superior, comprising 3 - numerous free carpels in one whorl or in a clustered head. Each carpel contains 1 (-2) anatropous

ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the '' integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the megasporangium), and the ...

Fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a head of

nutlet A nut is a fruit consisting of a hard or tough nutshell protecting a kernel which is usually edible. In general usage and in a culinary sense, a wide variety of dry seeds are called nuts, but in a botanical context "nut" implies that the shell ...

s (except in ''

Damasonium ''Damasonium'' is a genus of six species of flowering plants in the family Alismataceae, commonly known as starfruit and by the older name thrumwort. The genus has a subcosmopolitan but very patchy distribution.Germplasm Resources Information N ...

''). The

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s have no endosperm and a curved or folded embryo.

Classification

Under the APG III system, the Alismataceae includes three genera formerly members of the Limnocharitaceae. Altogether, there are 17 extant genera and two fossil genera assigned to the Alismataceae:

Cultivation and uses

Several species, notably in the genus ''

Sagittaria ''Sagittaria'' is a genus of about 303. Sagittaria Linnaeus
''

rhizomes, grown for both human food and animal fodder in southern and eastern Asia. They were eaten as food by the

indigenous peoples of North America The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

. Most have value as food for wildlife. Some are grown as

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

s in bog gardens,

s and aquariums. The leaves and flower buds of '' Limnocharis flava'' are eaten in Southeast Asia as "poor people's vegetable".Sky Meadows Nature Guide; accessed 2017-07-05
/ref>

References

External links

i

{{Taxonbar, from=Q156025 Alismatales families Aquatic plants