''Hippuris vulgaris'' (from Greek: ἵππος — ''horse'' and οὐρά — ''tail''), known as mare's-tail or common mare's-tail, is a common aquatic plant of

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and North America ranging from

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to the

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. It prefers non-acidic waters.

Description

The common mare's tail is a creeping,

perennial 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 wid ...

herb, found in shallow waters and

mud flat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

s. It roots underwater, but most of its leaves are above the water surface. The leaves occur in

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...

of 6–12; those above water are 0.5 to 2.5 cm long and up to 3 mm wide, whereas those under water are thinner and limper, and longer than those above water, especially in deeper streams. The stems are solid and unbranched but often curve, and can be up to 60 cm long. In shallow water they project 20–30 cm out of the water. It grows from stout rhizomes. The

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 are inconspicuous, and not all plants produce them. Studies of ''H. vulgaris'' in the Tibetan Plateau have shown that it is a prolific

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Ea ...

emitter.Hirota, H., Tang, Y., Hu Q. et al. (2004) Methane emissions from different vegetation zones in a Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau wetland. Soil Biology & Biogeochemistry, 36, 737-748 ''H. vulgaris's'' roots extend into the anoxic zone of wetland soils and create a conduit for methane produced in the anoxic zone to travel to the atmosphere.

Uses

It can also be a troublesome

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

, obstructing the flow of water in rivers and ditches.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q33115 Plantaginaceae Freshwater plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus