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Alismataceae
Alismataceae image
Sue Carnahan  
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Robert R. Haynes ;C. Barre Hellquist in Flora of North America (vol. 22)
Herbs, annual or perennial, rhizomatous, stoloniferous, or cormose, caulescent, glabrous to stellate-pubescent; sap milky. Roots septate or not septate. Leaves basal, submersed, floating, or emersed, sessile or petiolate, sheathing proximally; blade with translucent markings of dots or lines present or absent, basal lobes present or absent; venation reticulate, primary veins parallel from base of blade to apex, secondary veins reticulate. Inflorescences scapose racemes or panicles, rarely umbels, erect, rarely floating or decumbent, whorled (forming racemes) or whorls branching (forming panicles), bracteolate. Flowers bisexual or unisexual, if unisexual, staminate and pistillate on same or different plants, hypogynous, subsessile to long-pedicellate; sepals persistent, 3; petals deciduous, 3, delicate; stamens 0, 6, 9, or to 30, distinct; anthers 2-loculed, dehiscing longitudinally; pistils 0 or 6--1500 or more, distinct or coherent proximally, 1-loculed; placentation basal; ovules1--2. Fruits achenes or follicles. Seeds: embryo U-shaped; endosperm absent in mature seed.
Desert Research Learning Center, Botany Program

Many aquatic with white latex, or semiaquatic. Leaves all basal or leaves below water surface, fairly linear, dimorphic with 2 kinds of leaves, if above, broader expanded. Flowers at top of inflorescence, branched, flowers held at same leaves, umbel or cymose inflorescence, perianth of 3 sepals, 3 petaloid (white and crumpled), 6-many stamens, carpels numerous, distinct, all superior with 1 ovule. Fruit an aggregate of achenes.  

The phylogeny of both this family and Limnocharitaceae are still unclear. Generally distinguished by being aquatic with basal leaves, usually whorled flowers and an apocarpous gynoecium with basal placentation.

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Species within checklist: Arikaree River (ARIK) plants - Central Plains (D10)
Sagittaria cuneata
Image of Sagittaria cuneata
NSF NEON | Open Data to Understand our Ecosystems The National Ecological Observatory Network is a major facility fully funded by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.