''Baldellia ranunculoides'', the lesser water-plantain, is a species 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 ...

in the family

Alismataceae The water-plantains (Alismataceae) are a family of flowering plants, 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 regions of the Northe ...

Synonyms

Alisma ranunculoides, Echinodorus ranunculoides, Sagittaria ranunculodes

Description

''Baldellia ranunculoides'' is an

aquatic plant Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...

which produced erect flowering stems that rise up to above the water surface. Each flower stalk bears one or two

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 ...

s of up to five

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 each, and often only a single flower. Each flower is in diameter, and has three petals. When not in flower, ''B. ranunculoides'' can be mistaken for lesser spearwort, ''

Ranunculus flammula ''Ranunculus flammula'', the lesser spearwort, greater creeping spearwort or banewort, is a species of perennial herbaceous plants in the genus ''Ranunculus'' (buttercup), growing in damp places throughout the Boreal Kingdom. It flowers June/Jul ...

'', which grows in similar locations.

Distribution

''Baldellia ranunculoides'' is found along the Atlantic and Baltic coast of western and northern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and along the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

coasts of southern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. Recently found in eastern Newfoundland, Bristol's Hope barachois, Avalon Peninsula, the only location in North America. May have been introduced by a float (Sarracenia magazine, Newfoundland and Labrador Wildflower Society.

References

External links

* * Alismataceae Flora of Europe Flora of North Africa Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Freshwater plants {{monocot-stub