''Hydrocotyle'', also called floating pennywort, water pennywort, Indian pennywort, dollar weed, marsh penny, thick-leaved pennywort and white rot, is a genus of prostrate,

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

aquatic or semi-

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 formerly classified in the family

Apiaceae Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...

, now in the family

Araliaceae The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants commonly called the ginseng family. The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely ...

Description

Water pennyworts, ''Hydrocotyles'', are very common. They have long creeping stems that often form dense mats, often in and near ponds, lakes, rivers, and marshes, and some species in coastal areas by the sea. ;Leaves: Simple, with small leafy outgrowth at the base, kidney shaped to round. Leaf edges are scalloped. The leaf surfaces of ''Hydrocotyle'' are prime grounds for

oviposition The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typica ...

of many butterfly species, such as ''

Anartia fatima ''Anartia fatima'', the banded peacock, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is commonly found in south Texas, Mexico, and Central America but most studied in Costa Rica. This butterfly prefers subtropical climates and moist areas, such a ...

''. ;Flowers: Flower clusters are simple and flat-topped or rounded.

Involucral bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look ...

at the base of each flower. Indistinct

sepals A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

. File:Hydrocotyle leucocephala HannesWilms.jpg, Flowering ''Hydrocotyle'' ''leucocephala'' File:Hydrocotyle vulgaris kz24.jpg, Flowering ''Hydrocotyle vulgaris'' ;Fruits and reproduction: Elliptical to round with thin ridges and no oil tubes (vitta) which is characteristic in the fruit of umbelliferous plants. :The prostrate plants reproduce by seed and by sending roots from stem nodes.

Selected species

There are over 280 species recognised in the genus ''Hydrocotyle'' that grow in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

regions worldwide. A few species have entered the world of cultivated ornamental aquatics. A list of selected species: *''

Hydrocotyle americana ''Hydrocotyle americana'' is a small plant native to the Northeastern United States. It is commonly referred to as American marshpennywort or navelwort and American water-pennywort. ''H. americana'' grows from Ontario to Newfoundland south thro ...

'' — American marshpennywort *''

Hydrocotyle bonariensis ''Hydrocotyle bonariensis'', the largeleaf pennywort, once a member of the family Apiaceae, now in the family Araliaceae and of the genus ''Hydrocotyle'', is a hairless and creeping perennial. Description ;Flowers: This plant has numerous whit ...

'' — largeleaf pennywort *''

Hydrocotyle bowlesioides ''Hydrocotyle'', also called floating pennywort, water pennywort, Indian pennywort, dollar weed, marsh penny, thick-leaved pennywort and white rot, is a genus of prostrate, perennial aquatic or semi-aquatic plants formerly classified in the famil ...

'' — largeleaf marshpennywort *''

Hydrocotyle heteromeria ''Hydrocotyle'', also called floating pennywort, water pennywort, Indian pennywort, dollar weed, marsh penny, thick-leaved pennywort and white rot, is a genus of prostrate, perennial aquatic or semi-aquatic plants formerly classified in the famil ...

'' — waxweed *''

Hydrocotyle geraniifolia ''Hydrocotyle geraniifolia'', commonly known as the forest pennywort, is a species of ''Hydrocotyle'' found in Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of th ...

'' *'' Hydrocotyle hexagona'' *''

Hydrocotyle hirta ''Hydrocotyle hirta'', commonly known as the hairy pennywort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primar ...

'' *''

Hydrocotyle hitchcockii ''Hydrocotyle hitchcockii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threat ...

'' *''

Hydrocotyle javanica ''Hydrocotyle javanica'', commonly known as Java pennywort, is a species of ''Hydrocotyle''. It is a prostrate herb found in NE India and SE Asia. Leaves are simple, circular-heart-shaped, with seven triangular shallow lobes. Leaves are 2.5-5 x 3 ...

'' *''

Hydrocotyle laxiflora ''Hydrocotyle laxiflora'' is a species of plant in the family Araliaceae The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants com ...

'' *''

Hydrocotyle leucocephala ''Hydrocotyle'', also called floating pennywort, water pennywort, Indian pennywort, dollar weed, marsh penny, thick-leaved pennywort and white rot, is a genus of prostrate, perennial aquatic or semi-aquatic plants formerly classified in the famil ...

'' — Brazilian pennywort *''

Hydrocotyle moschata ''Hydrocotyle moschata'', also known as hairy pennywort or musky-marsh pennywort, is a species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produc ...

'' — musky marshpennywort *''

Hydrocotyle phoenix ''Hydrocotyle phoenix'' is a species of annual pennywort and is commonly called fire pennywort. It is only known to grow in south-west Australia, specifically in fire prone habitats; it is unique in this regard as it is the only species of ''Hyd ...

'' — fire pennywort *''

Hydrocotyle prolifera ''Hydrocotyle prolifera'', commonly called whorled marshpennywort , is a species of flowering plant in the ginseng family (Araliaceae The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consi ...

'' — whorled marshpennywort *''

Hydrocotyle pusilla ''Hydrocotyle'', also called floating pennywort, water pennywort, Indian pennywort, dollar weed, marsh penny, thick-leaved pennywort and white rot, is a genus of prostrate, perennial aquatic or semi-aquatic plants formerly classified in the famil ...

'' — tropical marshpennywort *''

Hydrocotyle ranunculoides ''Hydrocotyle ranunculoides'', known commonly as floating pennywort, or floating marshpennywort, is an aquatic plant in the family Apiaceae. It is native to North and South America. Origin and invasiveness Water pennywort is an aquatic plant, ...

'' — floating marshpennywort, floating marshpennywort, floating pennyroyal *''

Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides ''Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides'' is a small species of flowering plant native to southeastern Asia. It is also referred to as lawn marshpennywort. It is a dicot, traditionally placed in the family Apiaceae, but more recently suggested to belong ...

'' — lawn marshpennywort *'' Hydrocotyle tambalomaensis'' *''

Hydrocotyle tripartita ''Hydrocotyle tripartita'' is a perennial herb flowering with small white flowers that comes from New Zealand and the Australian states of Queensland, New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territorie ...

'' *'' Hydrocotyle umbellata'' — manyflower marshpennywort, umbrella pennyroyal *'' Hydrocotyle verticillata'' — whorled marshpennywort, whorled marshpennywort, whorled pennyroyal *''

Hydrocotyle vulgaris ''Hydrocotyle'', also called floating pennywort, water pennywort, Indian pennywort, dollar weed, marsh penny, thick-leaved pennywort and white rot, is a genus of prostrate, perennial aquatic or semi- aquatic plants formerly classified in the fam ...

'' — marsh pennywort, common pennywort *'' Hydrocotyle yanghuangensis''

Distribution

''Hydrocotyleae'' grow in wet and damp places in the tropics and the temperate zones.

Fossil record

One

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

fruit of a ''Hydrocotyle'' sp. has been extracted from

borehole A borehole is a narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water ( drilled water well and tube well), other liquids (such as petr ...

samples of the

Middle Miocene The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), epoch made up of two Stage (stratigraphy), stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene. The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0. ...

fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin,

West Carpathians The Western Carpathians () are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland w ...

, Poland.Łańcucka-Środoniowa M.: Macroscopic plant remains from the freshwater Miocene of the Nowy Sącz Basin (West Carpathians, Poland) zczątki makroskopowe roślin z miocenu słodkowodnego Kotliny Sądeckiej (Karpaty Zachodnie, Polska) Acta Palaeobotanica 1979 20 (1): 3-117.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Apiales genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Aquatic plants