''Stratiotes'' is a genus of submerged

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 ...

commonly known as water soldiers, described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. Several specific names have been coined within the genus, but at present only one is recognized: '' Stratiotes aloides''. native to Europe and NW Asia. ;formerly included in genus moved to other genera: ''

Enhalus ''Enhalus'' is a monotypic genus of marine flowering plants. The sole species is ''Enhalus acoroides''. ''Enhalus'' is a large seagrass native to coastal waters of the tropical Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. It is the only species of seagra ...

Hydrocleys ''Hydrocleys'' is a genus of aquatic plants in the Alismataceae, native to the Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) an ...

Ottelia ''Ottelia'' is a genus of an aquatic plant family Hydrocharitaceae described as a genus in 1805. The genus is native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, South America, and Australia.Cook, C.D.K. and Urmi- Konig, K. (1984A revisio ...

'' # ''Stratiotes acoroides -

Enhalus acoroides ''Enhalus'' is a monotypic genus of marine flowering plants. The sole species is ''Enhalus acoroides''. ''Enhalus'' is a large seagrass native to coastal waters of the tropical Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. It is the only species of seagr ...

'' # ''Stratiotes alismoides -

Ottelia alismoides ''Ottelia alismoides'', commonly known as duck lettuce, is a species of aquatic plant native to Asia and northern Australia. References External links * * Flora of Korea Monocots of Australia alismoides {{Monocot-stub ...

'' # ''Stratiotes nymphoides -

Hydrocleys nymphoides ''Hydrocleys nymphoides'', the waterpoppy or water-poppy, is an aquatic plant species in the Alismataceae. It is widespread across South America, Central America, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and the Netherlands Antilles. It is cultivated in many place ...

'' # ''Stratiotes quinquealatus -

Description

The leaves are serrate and very brittle, breaking easily when handled. Reproduction is generally by offsets, which may number five or more per plant. In the UK, male plants have rarely if ever been recorded, although some

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...

flowers have been recorded from more southerly locations. Sexual reproduction is not known to occur. A characteristic of the genus is the habit of the plants rising to the surface at flowering time.

Ecology

The plant appears to be associated with calcareous waters and there is a suggestion that changing levels of calcium carbonate on the leaves may explain the floating and submerging behaviour. The rare

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

, the

Norfolk hawker ''Aeshna isoceles'' is a small hawker dragonfly that is found in Europe, mostly around the Mediterranean, and the lowlands of North Africa. Its common name in English is green-eyed hawker. In Britain it is a rare and local species and is known ...

(''Aeshna isosceles''), relies on the presence of ''Stratiotes aloides'' as a food source for the smaller insects on which it feeds. They are very winter hardy

Fossil record

Several fossil seeds of †''Stratiotes kaltennordheimensis'' have been extracted from borehole samples of the

Middle Miocene The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene. The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma to 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma (million y ...

fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland.Łańcucka-Środoniowa M.: Macroscopic plant remains from the freshwater Miocene of the Nowy Sącz Basin (West Carpathians, Poland) zczątki makroskopowe roślin z miocenu słodkowodnego Kotliny Sądeckiej (Karpaty Zachodnie, Polska) Acta Palaeobotanica 1979 20 (1): 3-117.

Uses

''Stratiotes aloides'' is commonly used in cool water ponds and aquariums in Europe.

References

External links

Invading Species.com
Partnership between the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters Hydrocharitaceae Hydrocharitaceae genera Aquatic plants Monotypic Alismatales genera Dioecious plants {{monocot-stub