''Villarsia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of aquatic

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in 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 ...

. The genus is named for the French botanist

Dominique Villars Dominique Villars or Villar (born 14 November 1745 in Le Villard, part of the commune of Le Noyer, Hautes-Alpes, and died on 26 June 1814 in Strasbourg) was an 18th-century French botanist. His main work is ''Histoire des plantes du Dauphiné' ...

(1745–1814). ''Villarsia'' are wetland plants with basal leaves. The

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 ...

is a branched

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

with numerous flowers. Flowers are five-parted, either yellow or white, and the petals are adorned with wings. A number of its Australian species were reassigned to ''

Ornduffia ''Ornduffia'' is a genus of flowering plants in 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 ...

''. ''Villarsia'' is largely restricted to Australia, but some species are found in Southeast Asia, and '' V. capensis'' and others exist in South Africa. The geographic distribution of species is given below: South Africa: * '' Villarsia capensis'' (Houtt.) Merr. * '' Villarsia goldblattiana'' Ornduff * '' Villarsia manningiana'' Ornduff Southeast Asia: * '' Villarsia cambodiana'' Hance (

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

: ''V. rhomboidalis'' Dop) Eastern Australia: * '' Villarsia exaltata'' (Sol. ex Sims) G.Don (

: ''Liparophyllum exaltatum'') Western Australia: * '' Villarsia capitata'' Nees * '' Villarsia congestiflora'' F.Muell. * '' Villarsia lasiosperma'' F.Muell. * '' Villarsia latifolia'' Benth. * '' Villarsia violifolia'' F.Muell.

Notes

Menyanthaceae Freshwater plants Asterales genera Asterales of Australia {{asterales-stub