''Triglochin'' is a plant genus in the family Juncaginaceae described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in 1753. It includes 25 known species. It is very nearly

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

in distribution, with species on every continent except

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

. North America has four accepted species, two of which can also be found in Europe: '' Triglochin palustris'' (marsh arrowgrass) and '' Triglochin maritima'' (sea arrowgrass). Australia has many more.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> The most widely used common name for the genus is arrowgrass, although these plants are not really

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

es. Many of the common names for species make use of the term "arrowgrass", although there are exceptions: '' T. procera'', for example, is commonly known as water ribbons. Arrowgrasses are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

species including the

grey chi The grey chi (; ''Antitype chi'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was Species description, first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is distributed througho ...

moth.

Description

This genus contains marsh herbs with flat or cylindrical leaves. The inflorescences are spikes or racemes. The flowers have two bracts. Each flower has three or six herbaceous and deciduous perianth segments. Three to six stamens are connected at the base of the perianth segments and fall with the perianths. There are three to six carpels with a one chambered ovary containing a single ovule. The styles are short and may be fused at the base. The stigmas are often stalkless and plumose. The fruits have 3-6 free or fused curved follicles or achenes (small, dry, one seeded fruits with a loose covering)that break away from a persistent three winged axis. The seed is erect with a straight embryo.

Species

The following species are accepted: ;formerly included now in other genera: ''

Bulbine ''Bulbine'' is a genus of plants in the family Asphodelaceae and subfamily Asphodeloideae, named for the bulb-shaped tuber of many species. It was formerly placed in the Liliaceae. It is found chiefly in Southern Africa, with a few species extend ...

'', '' Cycnogeton'' and '' Tetroncium'' *''Triglochin alcockiae'' – '' Cycnogeton alcockiae'' – Australia *''Triglochin dubia'' – '' Cycnogeton dubium'' – Australia,

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

*''Triglochin huegelii'' – '' Cycnogeton huegelii'' –

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

*''Triglochin linearis'' – '' Cycnogeton lineare'' –

*''Triglochin magellanica'' – '' Tetroncium magellanicum'' –

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

, Falkland Is, Gough I *''Triglochin maundii'' – '' Maundia triglochinoides'' – Australia *''Triglochin microtuberosa'' – '' Cycnogeton microtuberosum'' – Australia *''Triglochin multifructa'' – '' Cycnogeton multifructum'' – Australia *''Triglochin procera'' – Cycnogeton procerum'' – ''Australia *''Triglochin pterocarpa'' – '' Cycnogeton dubium'' – Australia,

*''Triglochin racemosa'' – '' Bulbine semibarbata'' – Australia *''Triglochin reflexa'' – '' Tetroncium magellanicum'' –

, Falkland Is, Gough I *''Triglochin rheophila'' – '' Cycnogeton rheophilum'' – Australia *''Triglochin triglochinoides'' – '' Maundia triglochinoides'' – Australia

References

{{Authority control Juncaginaceae Alismatales genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Taxa named by Aimé Bonpland