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(Last Modified On 11/16/2012)
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(Last Modified On 11/16/2012)
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Species
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NEPTUNIA PROSTRATA (Lam.) Baillon
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PlaceOfPublication
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Bull. Soc. Linn. Paris 1:356. 1883.
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Synonym
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Mimosa prostrata Lam. Encycl. Meth. 1:10. 1783. Neptunia oleracea Lour. Fl. Cochinch. 654. 1790. Mimosa natans Vahl, Symb. 3:102. 1794 (L.f. Suppl. 439. 1781. = nomen nudum). Mimosa lacustris H. & B. P1. Aequin. 1:55. 1806. Desmanthus lacustris Willd. Sp. P1. 4:1044. 1806. Desmanthus natans Willd. loc. cit. 1806. Mimosa aquatica Pers. Syn. P1. 2:263. 1807, fide Benth. Desmanthus stolonifer DC. Prodr. 2:444. 1825, fide Benth. Acacia lacustris Desf. Cat. Hort. Paris, 301. 1829. Neptunia stolonifera Guill., Perr. & Rich. Fl. Seneg. 239. 1830-33.
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Description
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Prostrate, floating herb or "subshrub," the submerged stems spongy-inflated with a pithy outer surface, bearing nodular roots, the above-water stems glabrous, flexuous, not lenticellate. Leaves moderate, 2-ranked, bipinnate, the pinnae mostly 3 pairs opposite on the rachis, the leaflets usually about 15 pairs per pinna; petioles mostly 2-3 cm. long, glabrous, somewhat flattened above, eglandular or with an apical callus just below insertion of the basal pair of pinnae; rachis similar to and approximating the petiole; pinnae usually 2-4 cm. long, the pairs moderately re- mote from one another, glabrous; leaflets linear or linear-spatulate, 3-12 mm. long and 1-3 mm. wide, rounded or obtuse and often briefly mucronulate apically, obliquely rounded or subtruncate basally, glabrous, the venation obscure; stipules inequilaterally ovate-lanceolate, generally about 5 mm. long, glabrous, not striate. Inflorescence of axillary, pedunculate heads or very short spikes; peduncles elongate, as much as 15 cm. long, glabrous, usually bearing near or below the middle 2 rather small bracts; heads obovoid in bud, dense, bearing staminate or infertile flowers basally and perfect flowers apically. Flowers sessile, bi- (tri?) -morphic, reportedly whitish fading yellow; calyx of perfect flowers, cupulate-funnelform, about 2 mm. long (smaller in basal flowers), glabrous, 5-lobed; corolla of 5 linear-spatulate petals, about 4 mm. long, glabrous; stamens of perfect flowers about 10, 7-8 mm. long; staminodia of basal flowers normally 10, petaloid, as much as 15 mm. long, glabrous; ovary glabrous; style exceeding the stamens; stigma expanded, truncate. Legume oblong, 10-25 mm. long and about 8 mm. wide, flat, somewhat curved, stipitate, briefly beaked, glabrous, few-seeded, the seeds transverse.
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Habit
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herb subshrub
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Distribution
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World tropics. In Western Hemisphere: Mexico and Guatemala, West Indies, Panama and Colombia to Peru and Brazil.
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Specimen
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COCLP: Aguadulce, Woodson, Allen d Seibert I209.
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Note
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There is some question as to whether the cited specimen may more properly belong to this species or to N. plena. The floating nature of the spongy, inflated stem, however, warrants its inclusion as N. prostrata. Probably N. prostrata is not a valid species, but merely a form of N. plena growing floating in water and assuming a prostrate position.
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