''Hydrocharis'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
aquatic plants in the family
Hydrocharitaceae
Hydrocharitaceae is a flowering plant family including 16 known genera with a total of ca 135 known species (Christenhusz & Byng 2016), that including a number of species of aquatic plant, for instance the tape-grasses, the well known Canadia ...
described as a genus by
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
in 1753. It is widespread across much of Europe and Asia, plus a few scattered locations in Africa. It is also reportedly naturalized in parts of North America.
[Roberts, M. L., R. L. Stuckey, and R. S. Mitchell. 1981. ''Hydrocharis morsus-ranae'' (Hydrocharitaceae) new to the United States. Rhodora 83: 147--148.]
The best known species is ''
Hydrocharis morsus-ranae
''Hydrocharis morsus-ranae'', frogbit, is a flowering plant belonging to the genus ''Hydrocharis'' in the family Hydrocharitaceae. In North America, it is referred to as common frogbit or European frog's-bit to distinguish it from the related Am ...
'', commonly called common frogbit or European frog's-bit, and occasionally water-poppy. The name "American frogbit" refers to another aquatic plant, ''
Limnobium spongia
''Limnobium'', common names spongeplant and American frogbit, is a group of aquatic plants in the Hydrocharitaceae described as a genus in 1814. It is widespread in freshwater environments in Latin America, the West Indies, and the United State ...
''.
Three species are recognised:
*''
Hydrocharis chevalieri''
(De Wild.) Dandy –
Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...
,
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
,
Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...
,
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
,
Republic of the Congo,
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
*''
Hydrocharis dubia
''Hydrocharis'' is a genus of aquatic plants in the family Hydrocharitaceae described as a genus by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It is widespread across much of Europe and Asia, plus a few scattered locations in Africa. It is also reportedly naturaliz ...
''
(Blume) Backer –
Primorsky Krai
Primorsky Krai (russian: Приморский край, r=Primorsky kray, p=prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj), informally known as Primorye (, ), is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of the ...
, China, Japan, Korea, Indian subcontinent, SE Asia, New Guinea
*''
Hydrocharis morsus-ranae
''Hydrocharis morsus-ranae'', frogbit, is a flowering plant belonging to the genus ''Hydrocharis'' in the family Hydrocharitaceae. In North America, it is referred to as common frogbit or European frog's-bit to distinguish it from the related Am ...
''
L. – Europe, Siberia, North Africa, Turkey,
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...
,
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
References
External links
*
Hydrocharitaceae
Hydrocharitaceae genera
Aquatic plants
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