''Nymphoides macrospermum'' is a critically endangered aquatic plant of the family

Menyanthaceae Menyanthaceae is a family of aquatic and wetland plants in the order Asterales. There are approximately 60-70 species in six genera distributed worldwide. The simple or compound leaves arise alternately from a creeping rhizome. In the submers ...

endemic to

Alwaye Aluva () is a municipality and a northern suburb of the city of Kochi in Kerala. It is located about north of the city centre. Aluva is known for the Sivarathri festival, which is celebrated annually on the sandbanks of the Periyar River. ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is an annual herb which has been observed in paddy fields, lagoons and slowly flowing streams. It is

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 ...

, with male and female flowers on separate plants.

References

macrospermum Flora of Kerala Dioecious plants {{Asterales-stub