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 Leaves University of South Florida Herbarium @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: CC BY (Attribution) |  Plant Vanderbilt University Herbarium @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) | | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Perennial
General Desc:
Aquatic plant with thick, submerged stems. Nearly round leaves up to 7 inches wide are green above, purplish below, often dotted with brown. Floats on the water's surface. Showy, yellow, lotus-shaped flowers float or rise above the water, close nightly.
Identification notes: Aquatic; rhizomes erect; stolons have fleshy banana-like roots; leaves float, purplish below and dark flecked, green above, often mottled with brown, often nearly round; yellow flowers above water or floating; sepals, outermost petals in whorls of 4.
Height:
6 inches to nearly 5 feet
Habitat Description: Found in lakes, ponds, warm springs, pools, marshes (wetland dominated by grasses), sloughs (a swamp or shallow lake system), slow streams, ditches and canals.
Plant Communities:
Riparian
Elevation: 3500 - 4000 feet
Color:
Yellow
Shape:
Regular not in clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Mar - Oct
Description:
Yellow flowers have a purplish tinge on the outside and may be faintly scented. Petals (up to 30) have a long oval shape and rounded tips. Yellowish-green leaf-like sepals below the flower and the outermost petals grow in distinct whorls of 4.
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Round or oval
Leaf Margin:
Smooth
Leaf Attachment:
Basal and alternate
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Specialized stems (stolons) produce bunches of small yellow roots that resemble miniature bananas to store nutrients. Leaves green with brown spots above, purplish below and narrowly notched almost to the center on one side where the stalk is attached.
Fruit Color: Green
Fruit Type: Capsule
Fruit Notes: The fruit is a berry-like capsule, round to egg-shaped, about 3/4 inch wide and may be spongy or fleshy. The fruit ripens underwater producing numerous small seeds.
Seed Notes: Seeds are sphere-shaped, about 1/8 inch long and 1/4 inch wide. Each seed has a floating membrane-like covering called an "aril" that is 1/4 inch wide as well as fine, greenish-black, hairlike growths called "papillae" that lay flat against its surface.
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