''Stratiotes'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of submerged

aquatic plant Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments ( saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...

commonly known as water soldiers, described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. Several specific names have been coined within the genus, but at present only one is recognized: ''

Stratiotes aloides ''Stratiotes aloides'', commonly known as water soldiers or water pineapple, is a submerged aquatic plant native to Europe and northwestern Asia. In Britain it was once common in East Anglia and still is in many places, particularly wet ditches a ...

''. native to Europe and NW Asia. ;formerly included in genus moved to other genera: ''

Enhalus ''Enhalus'' is a monotypic genus of marine flowering plants. The sole species is ''Enhalus acoroides''. ''Enhalus'' is a large seagrass native to coastal waters of the tropical Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. It is the only species of seag ...

Hydrocleys ''Hydrocleys'' is a genus of aquatic plants in the Alismataceae, native to the Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) an ...

Ottelia ''Ottelia'' is a genus of an aquatic plant family Hydrocharitaceae described as a genus in 1805. The genus is native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, South America, and Australia.Cook, C.D.K. and Urmi- Konig, K. (1984A revisi ...

'' # ''Stratiotes acoroides -

Enhalus acoroides ''Enhalus'' is a monotypic genus of marine flowering plants. The sole species is ''Enhalus acoroides''. ''Enhalus'' is a large seagrass native to coastal waters of the tropical Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. It is the only species of sea ...

'' # ''Stratiotes alismoides -

Ottelia alismoides ''Ottelia alismoides'', commonly known as duck lettuce, is a species of aquatic plant native to Asia and northern Australia. References External links * * Flora of Korea Monocots of Australia alismoides {{Monocot-stub ...

'' # ''Stratiotes nymphoides -

Hydrocleys nymphoides ''Hydrocleys nymphoides'', the waterpoppy or water-poppy, is an aquatic plant species in the Alismataceae. It is widespread across South America, Central America, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and the Netherlands Antilles. It is cultivated in many place ...

'' # ''Stratiotes quinquealatus -

Description

The leaves are

serrate Serration is a saw-like appearance or a row of sharp or tooth-like projections. A serrated cutting edge has many small points of contact with the material being cut. By having less contact area than a smooth blade or other edge, the applied ...

and very brittle, breaking easily when handled. Reproduction is generally by offsets, which may number five or more per plant. In the UK, male plants have rarely if ever been recorded, although some

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have ...

flowers have been recorded from more southerly locations. Sexual reproduction is not known to occur. A characteristic of the genus is the habit of the plants rising to the surface at flowering time.

Ecology

The plant appears to be associated with calcareous waters and there is a suggestion that changing levels of calcium carbonate on the leaves may explain the floating and submerging behaviour. The rare

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

, the

Norfolk hawker ''Aeshna isoceles'' is a small hawker dragonfly that is found in Europe, mostly around the Mediterranean, and the lowlands of North Africa. Its common name in English is green-eyed hawker. In Britain it is a rare and local species and is kno ...

(''Aeshna isosceles''), relies on the presence of ''Stratiotes aloides'' as a food source for the smaller

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s on which it feeds. They are very winter hardy

Fossil record

Several

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 preserved ...

seeds of †''Stratiotes kaltennordheimensis'' have 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 petro ...

samples of the Middle Miocene 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 Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

.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.

Uses

''Stratiotes aloides'' is commonly used in cool water

ponds A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from tha ...

and

aquariums An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amp ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

References

External links

Invading Species.com
Partnership between the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters Hydrocharitaceae Hydrocharitaceae genera Aquatic plants Monotypic Alismatales genera Dioecious plants {{monocot-stub