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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE WATERWORT FAMILY | |||||||||
| The waterwort family is represented in nearly all regions of the world. These plants can be herbs or shrubs. In Saskatchewan, the waterworts are aquatic herbs. The leaves are opposite or whorled. The flowers are either solitary in the leaf axils or in branched clusters, with the oldest flower at the top of the inflorescence. The flowers have both male and female parts. There can be between two and five sepals and petals and between two and ten stamens. The ovary is superior. The fruits are capsules or winged seeds called schizocarps. | |||||||||
| MUD PURSLANE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Elatine triandra | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Mud purslane is a small annual plant that grows up to 10 cm. The stems are usually tufted or mat forming and can spread up to 20 cm wide. The slender, fleshy stems often root at the nodes. The leaves are opposite and 3 to 8 mm long. The leaves are linear or inversely egg-shaped, with a square or notched tip. The leaves are hairless and pitted above and bumpy below. The flowers are solitary in the leaf axils. The flowers are very small with three sepals, three petals and three stamens. The fruit is a capsule that releases many seeds with fleshy appendages. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Mud purslane is found in wet to drying mudflats, slough bottoms and tilled field potholes. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in a wide range in Saskatchewan in the Mixed Grassland, Moist Mixed Grassland, Mid-Boreal Upland, and Athabasca Plain ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Mud purslane is threatened in Saskatchewan because it rare or uncommon. It is usually locally numerous within limited areas. Possible threats have been identified for this species, including the drainage of potholes for agriculture and climate change. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY MUD PURSLANE | |||||||||
| * Are the leaves opposite? * Are the stems rooting at the nodes? * Are the stems creeping along the ground, forming mats? * Did you find it in a mudflat in Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found mud purslane! | |||||||||
