Limosella

Scientific name

Limosella L.

Common names

mudwort

Family

Scrophulariaceae

Similar genera

Helanthium, Lilaeopsis, Littorella, Pilularia, Ranalisma

Native distribution

cosmopolitancosmopolitan:
(adj) essentially worldwide in distribution

Species cultivated

Limosella aquatica L. is rarely cultivated

Adventive distribution

cosmopolitancosmopolitan:
(adj) essentially worldwide in distribution

Weed status

not weedy

Habit

emergentemergent:
(adj) (syn. emersed) with parts raised out of the water; extending up out of the water
, floating, or submergedsubmerged:
(adj) (syn. submersed) under water; submerged below the water surface
marsh herb

Brief description

Very small, tufted rosetterosette:
(n) a radiating cluster of leaves, usually close to the ground at the base of a plant
plant. Stems compact and stoloniferous, glabrousglabrous:
(adj) without hairs or scales
. Leaves usually basalbasal:
(adj) at or pertaining to the base, or point of attachment
, sometimes in oppositeopposite:
(adj) (of leaves) two leaves per node; in pairs on opposite sides of an axis
fascicles; emergentemergent:
(adj) (syn. emersed) with parts raised out of the water; extending up out of the water
or floating, petiolatepetiolate:
(adj) relating to or in the form of a petiole; bearing petioles
(length highly variable); leaf bladeblade:
(n) (syn. lamina) the flat, expanded part of a leaf, frond, or petal (excluding, e.g., the petiole)
linear, ellipticelliptical:
(adj) in the form of an ellipse (oval)
or ovateovate:
(adj) egg-shaped in outline; generally with the broad end at or near the base
; marginmargin:
(n) edge; rim
entire. Flowers axillaryaxillary:
(adj) in, of, or produced from an axil
, solitary; pedicellatepedicellate:
(adj) borne on a pedicel
or sessilesessile:
(adj) attached directly, without a stalk
, small, white, pink, or purplish; calyxcalyx:
(n) the outer whorl of the perianth; all the sepals of a flower
campanulatecampanulate:
(adj) bell-shaped
, lobes typically 5, short; corollacorolla:
(n) the inner whorl(s) of the perianth; all the petals of a flower
campanulate to rotate, lobes 5, ovateovate:
(adj) egg-shaped in outline; generally with the broad end at or near the base
, oblongoblong:
(adj) two to four times longer than wide, with +/- parallel sides
or rounded; stamens 4.

Natural habitat

in and along marshes, ephemeral pools, ponds, streams, and lakes

Additional comments

All species in the genus (about 10) are amphibiousamphibious:
(adj) of a plant able to live on land or in water
to aquatic. Among them leaf shape is highly variable, from linear and erect to an ellipticalelliptical:
(adj) in the form of an ellipse (oval)
blade on a very long linear petiolepetiole:
(n) the stalk of a leaf
, as seen in species with floating leaves.