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• Heteranthera reniformis

Heteranthera reniformis — kidney-leaved mud-plantain

Facts

Kidney-leaved mud-plantain is the unprepossessing name of a plant of mud flats and tidal river shores. It has a wide distribution in north, central and south America, and is an introduced weed in other parts of the world. This species reaches the northern limit of its range in New England, where it is found only in southwestern Connecticut.

Habitat

Shores of rivers or lakes

Characteristics

• Clonal plantlets

  Axillary bulblets

  there are no bulblets being produced in axils

• Flowers

  Anther attachment

  the anther is attached by its base to the filament

  Anther color

  • the anthers show no hint of a pink, reddish or purplish tint
  • there is a noticeable pink, reddish or purplish tint to the anthers

  Bulblets replace flowers

  there are no bulblets where the flowers are located

  Carpels fused

  the carpels are fused (the number of carpels equals the number of locules)

  Filament surface

  the filament surface has rough hairs or scales on it

  Flower bracts

  there are bracts associated with the flower

  Flower number

  2–15

  Flower orientation

  the flowers point upward or spread or curve outward

  Flower petal color

  white

  Flower petal length

  8–16.5 mm

  Flower shape

  the flower has a narrow corolla tube that abruptly widens at the end

  Flower symmetry

  there is only one way to evenly divide the flower (the flower is bilaterally symmetrical)

  Form of style

  • the style is knob-like at the tip, and unbranched
  • the style is lobed at the tip, and unbranched

  Fringed petal edges

  the petals are not fringed

  Hairs on flower stalk

  the flower stalk has hairs on it

  Inflorescence hair glands

  at least some of the hairs on the axis of the inflorescence have glands

  Inflorescence length

  Up to 54 mm

  Inflorescence type

  the inflorescence is a spike (a long unbranched stem with flowers along it that lack stalks)

  Length of peduncle

  5–42 mm

  Marks on petals

  there are no noticeable marks on the petals

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of carpels

  3

  Number of pistils

  1

  Number of sepals and/or petals

  there are six petals, sepals or tepals in the flower

  Number of styles

  1–3

  Ovary position

  the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Petal and sepal arrangement

  the flower includes only one cycle of petals or sepals

  Petal appearance

  the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

  Petal base

  the petal narrows gradually or does not narrow at the base

  Petal fusion

  the perianth parts are fused to form a tube, cup, or bell shape

  Petal nectaries

  the petals do not have nectaries

  Sepal appearance

  the sepals resemble petals in color and texture

  Sepal length

  8–16.5 mm

  Sepal orientation

  the sepals are slightly curved outwards from the plant

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  the sepals are fused to each other (often along with the petals in monocots), at least near their bases

  Spathe

  the plant has a spathe surrounding the flower spike

  Spathe form

  NA

  Spathe length

  8–55 mm

  Stamen length

  0.9–4.7 mm

  Stamen number

  3

  Stamen position relative to petals

  NA

  Stamen types

  the stamens within a cycle are distinctly of two types

  Stamens fused

  the stamens are not fused to one another

  Stamens fused outwards

  the stamens are fused to the petals or tepals at or near their bases

  Style petal-like

  the style is not broad and flattened like a petal

  Tepals

  the petals and sepals are similar in size and color

• Fruits or seeds

  Berry color

  NA

  Fruit compartments

  there are three locules in the fruit

  Fruit length

  12–20 mm

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe

  Fruit type (specific)

  the fruit is a capsule (splits along two or more seams, apical teeth or pores when dry, to release two or more seeds)

  Other markings on berry

  NA

• Glands or sap

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

• Growth form

  Lifespan

  • the plant lives more than two years
  • the plant lives only a single year or less

  Underground organs

  there are only slender roots on the plant

• Leaves

  Leaf arrangement

  • alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem
  • basal: the leaves are growing only at the base of the plant

  Leaf blade basal lobes

  the leaf blades do not have basal lobes

  Leaf blade base

  • the leaf has a distinct leaf stalk (petiole)
  • the leaf has no stalk

  Leaf blade base shape

  The base of the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped, with rounded lobes) or sagittate (arrow-shaped, with pointed, backward-facing lobes)

  Leaf blade cross-section

  the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section

  Leaf blade faces

  both surfaces of the leaf blade are exposed

  Leaf blade form

  Fully-formed (i.e., expanded), +/- green leaf blades are found somewhere on the plant

  Leaf blade length

  10–40 mm

  Leaf blade orientation

  the upper surface of the leaf blade faces the stem of the plant

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped with backward-facing rounded lobes), or sagittate (arrow-shaped with backward-facing pointed lobes)
  • the leaf blade is linear (very narrow with more or less parallel sides)
  • the leaf blade is oblanceolate (lance-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color

  Leaf blade tip

  the tip of the leaf blade is obtuse (bluntly pointed)

  Leaf blade veins

  the lateral veins are parallel or slightly arched in the direction of the tip

  Leaf blade width

  3–50 mm

  Leaf stalk length

  20–130 mm

  Leaf type

  the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

  Leaflet number

  0

  Stipule twining

  the stipules are not twining

  Stipules

  this plant has stipules

• Place

  Habitat

  wetlands

  New England state

  Connecticut

  Specific habitat

  shores of rivers or lakes

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the leaves have no particular smell

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem growth form

  • the flowering stem is held upright
  • the flowering stem trails along the ground or on other vegetation, or floats in the water

  Flowering stem interior

  the flowering stem is solid

  Flowering stem leaves

  there is at least one fully-formed leaf on the flowering stem

  Stem hairs

  the stem is nearly or completely hairless

Wetland status

Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae