The Cabombaceae are a family of aquatic, herbaceous

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s. A common name for its species is water shield. The family is recognised as distinct in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group IV system (2016). The family consists of two genera of

aquatic plant Aquatic plants, also referred to as hydrophytes, are vascular plants and Non-vascular plant, non-vascular plants that have adapted to live in aquatic ecosystem, aquatic environments (marine ecosystem, saltwater or freshwater ecosystem, freshwater ...

s, ''

Brasenia ''Brasenia'' is a genus belonging to the family Cabombaceae, consisting of one species, ''Brasenia schreberi'', commonly known as watershield. It is widely distributed in North America, the West Indies, northern South America (Venezuela, Guyana), ...

'' and ''

Cabomba ''Cabomba'' is a genus of perennial, rhizomatous, aquatic herbs in the family Cabombaceae native to tropical and subtropical America. It has divided submerged leaves in the shape of a fan (hence the vernacular name fanwort) and is much favoure ...

'', totalling six species.

Description

Vegetative characteristics

Cabombaceae are perennial, rhizomatous, aquatic herbsCabombaceae in Flora of North America @ efloras.org. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2025, from http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=10140 with slender, branched rhizomes and adventitious roots. The leaves are whorled, alternate, or opposite. Both floating and submerged leaves are produced.Cabombaceae. (n.d.). VicFlora Flora of Victoria. Retrieved February 17, 2025, from https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/0fbf1892-c184-4ba6-8217-f627ab8fb0ec

Generative characteristics

The solitary, pedunculate, bisexual, chasmogamous, actinomorphic, inodorousPellegrini, M. O. O. & Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. (n.d.-e). Cabombaceae Rich. ex A.Rich. Flora E Funga Do Brasil. Retrieved February 17, 2025, from https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/FB69 flowers float on the water surface or extend beyond it.Cabombaceae in Flora of China @ efloras.org. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2025, from http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=10140 The gynoecium consists of (1–)2–18 free carpels.T.D. Stanley, A.E. Orchard. Cabombaceae, in P.G. Kodeal (ed.), Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Cabombaceae ate Accessed: 18 February 2025/ref> The indehiscent,Bory de Saint-Vincent. (1822). Dictionnaire classique d’histoire naturelle (Vol. 2, p. 608). Rey et Gravier, Libraries-Editeurs, Auai des Augustins, no. 55; Baudouin Frèrer, Libraries-Editeurs, Imprimeurs de la société D’Histoire Naturelle, Rue de Vaugirard, no. 36. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/25672588 follicle-like or achene-like fruit bears 1–3 seeds.

Distribution

The Cabombaceae are all aquatic, living in still or slow-moving waters of temperate and tropical North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Although found on all continents but Antarctica, the plants tend to grow in relatively restricted ranges.

Fossil record

The family has an extensive fossil record from the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

with plants that exhibit affinities to either the Cabombaceae or Nymphaeaceae occurring in the Early Cretaceous. One such likely Cretaceous member is the genus ''

Pluricarpellatia ''Pluricarpellatia peltata'' was a species of herbaceous aquatic plant, which occurred in the early Cretaceous period of Brazil. Description Vegetative characteristics ''Pluricarpellatia peltata'' was an aquatic, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant wi ...

'', found in rocks 115 million years old in what is now Brazil. '' Scutifolium jordanicum'' David W.Taylor, G.J.Brenner et S.H.Basha has been described from the Lower Cretaceous of

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

.Taylor, D. W., Brenner, G. J., & Basha, S. D. H. (2008)
"''Scutifolium jordanicum'' gen. et sp. nov.(Cabombaceae), an aquatic fossil plant from the Lower Cretaceous of Jordan, and the relationships of related leaf fossils to living genera.
American Journal of Botany, 95(3), 340-352. '' Garasbahia flexuosa'' Krassilov et Bachia has been described from the mid-Cretaceous of Morocco.

Taxonomy

Publication

The family Cabombaceae Rich. ex A.Rich. was first published in 1822 by

Louis Claude Richard Louis Claude Marie Richard (19 September 1754 – 6 June 1821) was a French botanist and botanical illustration, botanical illustrator. Biography Richard was born at Versailles (city), Versailles. Between 1781 and 1789 he collected botanical s ...

, but initial description did not satisfy the requirements for valid publications. The family then was validated by Achille Richard.

Taxonomic history

The

APG system The APG system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system) of plant classification is the first version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy. Published in 1998 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, it was replaced by the improved ...

of 1998 included this family in the water lily family

Nymphaeaceae Nymphaeaceae () is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate climate, temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains five genera with about 70 know ...

, as did the

APG II system The APG II system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II system) of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly Molecular phylogenetics, molecular-based, list of systems of plant taxonomy, system of plant taxonomy that ...

, of 2003 (optionally). The

APG III The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). Published in 2009, it was superseded in 2016 by a fur ...

and

APG IV system The APG IV system of flowering plant classification is the fourth version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy for flowering plants (angiosperms) being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). It was publish ...

s of classification separated the family Cabombaceae from the family Nymphaeaceae. The family is part of the order Nymphaeales, which is one of the most basal

lineages.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q856266 Angiosperm families