Alisma subcordatum

Alisma subcordatum, the American water plantain, is a perennial aquatic plant in the water-plantain family (Alismataceae). This plant grows to about 3 feet (0.91 meters) in height with lance to oval shaped leaves rising from bulbous corms with fibrous roots. Any leaves that form underwater are weak and quick to rot; they rarely remain on adult plants. A branched inflorescence with white to pink 3-petaled flowers blooms from June to September. The seeds are eaten by waterfowl and upland birds.[4][5] Native Americans dried and ate the submerged rootlike structures.[6] The species name subcordatum means "almost heart-shaped".[7]

American water plantain
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Alismataceae
Genus: Alisma
Species:
A. subcordatum
Binomial name
Alisma subcordatum
Synonyms[2][3]
  • Alisma plantago-aquatica L. ssp. subcordatum (Raf.) Hultén
  • Alisma plantago-aquatica L. var. parviflorum (Pursh) Torr.
  • Alisma parviflorum Pursh

Distribution and habitat

American water plantain is native to most of eastern and central United States and Canada from Texas to Georgia, north to Manitoba and New Brunswick, though it has not been reported from Florida.[4][8][9][10] It grows in the mud of still to slow moving water, seeps, and wetlands.[4]

References
  1. Maiz-Tome, L. (2016). "Alisma subcordatum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T64263394A67728483. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T64263394A67728483.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. PLANTS Profile for Alisma subcordatum Retrieved 2010-03-17.
  3. Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2010-03-17.
  4. USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet Retrieved 2010-03-18.
  5. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Retrieved 2010-03-18.
  6. Niering, William A.; Olmstead, Nancy C. (1985) [1979]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region. Knopf. p. 317. ISBN 0-394-50432-1.
  7. Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium University of Wisconsin Stevens Point Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  8. Alisma subcordatum Raf. , USDA PLANTS
  9. "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". apps.kew.org. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  10. Biota of North America Program


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