American Marsh Pennywort
Hydrocotyle americana Linnaeus
American Marsh Pennywort: https://marylandbiodiversity.com/species/2351
Synonyms
American Water-pennywort 
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GAALWAFRCLMOHOBABCHACEPGAACVCHSMKEQACNTADOWISOWO

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Source: Wikipedia

American marshpennywort
H. americana showing the minute flowers
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Araliaceae
Genus: Hydrocotyle
Species:
H. americana
Binomial name
Hydrocotyle americana
L.[1]

Hydrocotyle americana is a small plant native to the Northeastern United States. It is commonly referred to as American marshpennywort[2] or navelwort [3] and American water-pennywort.[4] H. americana grows from Ontario to Newfoundland south through the Appalachian Mountains to South Carolina.[2] H. americana has been introduced to South Africa[5] as well as New Zealand.[6]

Habitat

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American marshpennywort typically grows in moist areas such as bogs, seeps, boggy fields, wet woods, and lake margins.[3][4] It is widespread in the northern part of its range, becoming less common further south and limited to more specific habitats. For example, in South Carolina, at the southern end of H. americana's range, it is found only on "Spray Cliff" communities where mist and water from a nearby waterfall keeps the plants hydrated.[7]

Description

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Illustration of H. americana

Hydrocotyle americana is a small perennial herb which sprawls along the ground with the aid of stolons which root as the plant crawls along the ground. It produces small tubers along the stem which aid in reproduction; these tubers are typically less than 1 cm long and cylindrical, but tubers up to 1.5 cm have been observed.[8] The plant can also create runners which spread along the ground and are longer than the stolons.[8] The leaves art 2–5 cm wide, and shallowly lobed.[3] Flowers and fruits are inconspicuous and often hidden below the leaves. As with all plants in the Araliaceae the flower form is an umbel composed of 2-7 flowers located in the leaf axils.[3]

References

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  1. ^ The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species, retrieved 30 April 2020
  2. ^ a b "Plants Profile for Hydrocotyle americana (American marshpennywort)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d Rhoads, Anne; Block, Timothy (2007). The plants of Pennsylvania : an illustrated manual (2nd ed.). University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-4003-0.
  4. ^ a b Weakley, Alan (2015). Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Herbarium. Archived from the original on 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  5. ^ Wirminghaus, J. O. (17 October 1990). "A checklist of the plants of the Karkloof Forest, Natal midlands". Bothalia. 20 (2): 159–165. doi:10.4102/abc.v20i2.910. ISSN 2311-9284. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  6. ^ Matthews, L. J. (1982). "Pasture weeds of New Zealand". Biology and ecology of weeds. Springer Netherlands. pp. 387–394. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-0916-3_33. ISBN 978-90-481-8519-1.
  7. ^ Zartman, Charles E.; Pittillo, J. Dan (1998). "Spray Cliff Communities of the Chattooga Basin". Castanea. 63 (3): 217–240. ISSN 0008-7475. JSTOR 4033977.
  8. ^ a b Holm, Theodor (1899). "Notes on Hydrocotyle americana L" (PDF). Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 11 (741): 455–462. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.11-741.455. ISSN 0096-3801. Retrieved 1 May 2020.