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Pickerelweed family
Pontederiaceae
ミズアオイ科
A family of aquatic and semi-aquatic herbs. In Japan, Monochoria korsakowii and M. vaginalis grow natively and are known as paddy field weeds. Flowers are attractively blue to purple. Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is a globally invasive alien species.
Key Characteristics
- ●Aquatic or semi-aquatic herbs
- ●Six tepals, often blue to purple
- ●Some species have heteromorphic stamens of different lengths
- ●Leaves are cordate to sagittate with a glossy surface
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Whorled
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Parallel / Pinnate / Palmate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Stipules
Present / Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic / Zygomorphic
Petal count
6 petals
Ovary position
Superior
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Monocots > Commelinales > Pontederiaceae
Divergence Era
Paleogene
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Full adaptation to aquatic environments (differentiation into floating and emergent forms)
- ・Evolution of cross-pollination promoting mechanisms through heterostyly and heteromorphic stamens
Plants in Pickerelweed family on this site
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