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Vallisneria americana Michx.

American eelgrass (en), Vallisnérie spiralée (fr), Vallisnérie en spirale (fr), Vallisnérie (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Alismatales > Hydrocharitaceae > Vallisneria

Characteristics

A plant that keeps growing from year to year. It is a ribbon like plant which grows in water. It grows 2 m above the water surface and spreads 1 m wide. The stem is slender. The leaves are large and twisted in spirals. They are green and grass-like. They can be 90 cm long by 2 cm wide. The flowers are greenish-white. They are very small and appear in summer. They float on the water. Male and female flowers are separate. After fertilisation fruit develop underwater. The fruit are small, curved seed capsules.
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Lvs very thin, to 2 m, 3-10 mm wide, seldom more; staminate scape stout, 3-15 cm, the fls only 1-1.5 mm wide; stamens erect, with short, ± connate filaments, the androecium surrounded by a ring of short hairs; pistillate fls white, the sep 3.5-6.5 mm; staminodia adnate to the short style; fr 5-12 cm. In quiet water; N.S. and Que. to Minn. and S.D., s. to trop. Amer., and irregularly widespread elsewhere. July-Oct. Ours are var. americana.
Scapes: staminate scapes 30--50 mm, submersed; pistillate scapes elongate, projecting flowers to surface. Leaves 10--110 ´ 0.3--1.5 cm; leaf blade 3-zoned longitudinally, margins entire to serrate. Flowers: staminate flowers 1--1.5 mm wide; stamens 2, filaments basally connate; pistillate flowers solitary, rarely in umbel-like clusters. 2n = 20.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support aquatic
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 1.0
Mature height (meter) 0.3
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway cam

Environment

It is a temperate to tropical plant. It does best in still water in a protected, sunny position. The water can be 1 m deep. It is sensitive to frost and drought.
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Quiet waters. Lakes and slow flowing streams. Fresh to brackish waters of streams, lakes, rivers, and bays from sea level to 500 metres.
Light 7-8
Soil humidity 8-11
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity 3-8
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 8-10

Usage

The young leaves are cooked and eaten.
Uses environmental use
Edible leaves
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown by seed or by division. Seed are only produced if male and female plants both occur. Buds form at the base of the plant in winter and these grow and produce stolon.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -7
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Vallisneria americana unspecified picture

Distribution

Vallisneria americana world distribution map, present in Åland Islands, Canada, Cuba, Dominica, Micronesia (Federated States of), Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, Malaysia, Nicaragua, and United States of America

Conservation status

Vallisneria americana threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:431972-1
WFO ID wfo-0000770230
COL ID 7FDKC
BDTFX ID 70701
INPN ID 128498
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Vallisneria neotropicalis Vallisneria americana Vallisneria spiralis var. americana Vallisneria americana var. americana
WorldFloraDB 2024