Pontederiaceae is a family of flowering plants. Monochoria vaginalis in Kadavoor

The APG IV system of 2016 (unchanged from the

APG III system The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). Published in 2009, it was superseded in 2016 by a fur ...

of 2009, the APG II system of 2003 and the APG system of 1998) places the family in the order Commelinales, in the commelinid

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

, in the monocots. It is a small family of

heterostylous Heterostyly is a unique form of polymorphism and herkogamy in flowers. In a heterostylous species, two or three morphological types of flowers, termed "morphs", exist in the population. On each individual plant, all flowers share the same morph. ...

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 ...

s, occurring in tropical and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

waters. Charles Darwin was interested in the specialized form of heterostyly found in the family, known as tristyly. Not all of the species are heterostylous. The family contains two genera with around 40 known species. It is best known for the water hyacinth (''

Pontederia crassipes ''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive outside its native range.invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

in many waterways. The highly modified '' Heteranthera gardneri'' is a submerged aquatic with a two-flowered pseudanthium.

Taxonomy

The two genera within this family are: *''

Heteranthera ''Heteranthera'' is a genus of aquatic plants in the water hyacinth family, Pontederiaceae, known generally as mud plantains. Species of this genus are native to tropical and subtropical America and Africa. They live in the water or in wet soil ...

'' Ruiz & Pav. (including '' Eurystemon'', ''

Hydrothrix ''Hydrothrix'' Hook.f. was previously a monotypic flowering plant genus of Pontederiaceae, but is currently included in a broader and monophyletic '' Heteranthera''. The highly modified ''Heteranthera gardneri'' is a submerged aquatic with a tw ...

'', '' Scholleropsis'', and '' Zosterella'') *'' Pontederia'' L. (including '' Eichhornia'', ''

Monochoria ''Monochoria'' was originally a genus of aquatic plants in the water hyacinth family, Pontederiaceae. Currently, it has been reduced to a subgenus of Pontederia, ''Pontederia'' subg. ''Monochoria'', represented by ten species (listed below). Its ...

'', and '' Reussia'')

References

External links

links at CSDL
{{Taxonbar, from=Q725748 Commelinid families Aquatic plants