Aquarius reptilis (Lehtonen) Christenh. & Byng

Aquarius reptilis (Lehtonen) Christenh. & Byng

DE

Basionym : Echinodorus reptilis Lehtonen

Occurrence:

Southern Paraguay, north-eastern Argentina, southern Brazil.

Ecology

Grows on sandy riverbanks at c. 100 meters altitude.

Morphology General habit

Perennial, from short rhizomes, glabrous, up to 40 cm, rhizomes up to 5 cm long, 0.5 cm diam. Leaves emersed, leaf blade lanceolate to elliptic, 3-veined, 3 - 10 cm long, 0.5 - 2 cm wide, translucent markings present as short lines and dots, apex acute, base attenuated, petioles triangular in cross section, up to 8 cm long, 6 mm diam., base with sheath up to 2 cm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit oblanceoloid, 3 - 4-ribbed, keeled, glandular, approx. 1.5 mm long, 0.5 mm wide, glands 2, separated by ribs, round, beak end, erect, c. 0.3 mm.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescence consisting of umbels or racemes, 1 - 2 (- 3) whorls, each 3 - 5-flowered, prostrate, overhanging leaves, often multiplying, 5 - 10 cm long, 4 cm wide, rachis round to triangular in cross-section , pedicels round, up to 20 cm long, 1 mm in diameter, bracts free, lanceolate, coarse with membranous margins, much shorter than the concealed pedicels, up to 8 mm long, 3 mm wide, c. 7 - 11-veined, apex pointed, pedicels in flower and fruit spreading, round, 3.5 - 6 cm long, 5 mm diam. flowers 2.5 - 4 cm diameter, sepals and petals spreading, sepals c. 11 - 14-veined, c. 5 mm long, c. 3 mm wide, veins without papillae, petals white, without claws, not overlapping, c. 12 mm long, c. 12 mm wide, stamens 15 - 22, anthers many-sided, c. 1.5 mm long, filaments c. 3 mm long, carpels numerous

Note

This species is named after the prostrate and creeping habit characteristic of this species. This species has been described as Echinodorus sp. in Lehtonen (2006) and E. sp. 1 in Lehtonen & Myllys (2008). E. reptilis is characterized by a creeping umbellate or racemose inflorescence of 2 whorls with only 3 - 4 flowers on long pedicels. The plant is also much smaller than most other species in the genus. The leaves are densely packed with short translucent lines. All known collections have been made on sandbanks of rivers, a habitat normally avoided by the genus. Phylogenetically, E. reptilis resembles E. uruguayensis (Lehtonen & Myllys 2008), and the emersed foliage of the former indeed resembles that of the latter. However, E. uruguayensis grows mainly under submersed conditions and only occasionally has emersed leaves, whereas E. reptilis grows emersed and apparently does not produce morphologically characteristic submersed foliage at all.

Phenology

Flowering and fruiting from October to January.

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  Aquarius reptilis (Lehtonen) Christenh. & Byng

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  Aquarius reptilis (Lehtonen) Christenh. & Byng

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  Aquarius reptilis (Lehtonen) Christenh. & Byng

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  Aquarius reptilis (Lehtonen) Christenh. & Byng