Menyanthaceae is a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

of aquatic and wetland plants in the order

Asterales Asterales ( ) is an Order (biology), order of dicotyledonous flowering plants that includes the large Family (biology), family Asteraceae (or Compositae) known for composite flowers made of Floret#floret, florets, and ten families related to th ...

. There are approximately 60-70 species in six

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

distributed worldwide. The simple or compound

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

arise alternately from a creeping

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

. In the submersed aquatic genus '' Nymphoides'', leaves are floating and support a lax,

umbel UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

late or racemose

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

. In other genera the inflorescence is erect and consists of one (e.g., '' Liparophyllum'') to many flowers. The

sympetalous Sympetally (fused petals) is a flower characteristic that historically was used to classify a grouping of plants termed Sympetalae, but this term has been abandoned in newer molecular based classifications, although the grouping has similarity to ...

, insect-pollinated flowers are five-parted and either yellow or white. The petals are

ciliate The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to flagellum, eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a ...

or adorned with lateral wings. Fruit type is a capsule. Species of Menyanthaceae are found worldwide. The genera '' Menyanthes'' and '' Nephrophyllidium'' grow only in the northern hemisphere, while '' Liparophyllum'' and '' Villarsia'' occur only in the southern hemisphere. '' Nymphoides'' species have a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth, in appropriate habitats; most cosmopolitan species are known to be highly adaptable to a range of climatic and en ...

. Menyanthaceae species are of economic importance as ornamental water garden plants, with '' Nymphoides'' being most commonly traded. The practice of growing non-native water plants has led to several species becoming

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

or invasive. Dimorphic heterostyly occurs in all genera but '' Liparophyllum''. In addition, four species of '' Nymphoides'' are

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

Genera

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepts the following genera: * '' Liparophyllum'' Hook.f. * '' Menyanthes'' L. * '' Nephrophyllidium'' Gilg * '' Nymphoides'' Ség. * '' Ornduffia'' Tippery & Les * '' Villarsia'' Vent.

References

External links

Menyanthaceae of Mongolia in FloraGREIF
{{Authority control Asterales families