Water Mudwort Limosella aquatica Plantain family (Plantaginaceae)
This plant is widespread through the West in muddy and marshy areas and it often forms mats from its rooting (). It commonly is submerged with floating leaves. "Limosa" means "of marshy places" and "ella" is a diminutive, thus probably meaning "small plant of marshy places."
, , , aquatic or semi-aquatic plant, , . Leaf to 1" long, , , ; to over 4". Flowers solitary on a to over 2" long. with triangular . to 1/6" long, white to pink. a with numerous dark brown seeds.
An entire leaf has smooth edges. Not toothed or lobed.
A peduncle is a common stalk of a cluster of flowers.
A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.
lobe -- A rounded parts of a leaf (or other organ).
A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.
campanulate -- bell shaped
corolla -- The name for all the petals of a flower taken together.
capsule -- a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. In
most cases the capsule splits apart to release seeds.
spatulate -- spoon-shaped.
fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants.
It is formed from the ovary after flowering.
stolon -- A slender modified stem running along the ground, rooting at the tip,
and sprouting new plants. Strawberries have stolons. Also called runners.
calyx -- the sepals of a flower, typically forming a whorl that encloses
the petals and forms a protective layer around a flower in bud.
stoloniferous -- Having stolons or runners, stems running along the ground.
elliptic -- Oval, with no point or a very short point.
scape -- a long, leafless flower stalk coming directly from a root.
The tulip has a scape.
petiole -- the stalk of a leaf.
blade -- Just the flat part of a leaf. Not the stem.
glabrous -- smooth, glossy, having no bristles or hair-like structures. Bald.