Plantaginaceae
Limosella

Limosella major Diels

First published in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 26: 122 (1898)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Eritrea to S. Africa. It is a hydroperennial and grows primarily in the montane tropical biome.

Descriptions

Scrophulariaceae, D. Philcox. Flora Zambesiaca 8:2. 1990

Morphology General Habit
Tufted marsh herb, minutely glandular, stoloniferous or not; stolons, where present, up to 6.5 mm. long.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 25–45(140) mm. long, many, laminate, spathulate, oblong or oblong-spathulate; lamina 6–17(35) x 1.5–3.5(12) mm., usually ovate, obtuse or subacute, narrowed at base into erect, comparatively stout petiole.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pedicel
Pedicels (5)15–50 mm. long, erect in flower, deflexed in fruit.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 2.5–3.5(5) mm. long; lobes 0.8–1.5 mm. long, triangular-ovate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla c. 5 mm. long, lilac- or bluish-white; lobes c. 2.5 x 1.5 mm., ovate-circular to oblong, minutely pilose towards throat Capsule c. 4 x 3 mm., broadly ovoid to subglobose.
[FZ]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Scrophulariaceae, S.A. Ghazanfar, F.N. Hepper & D. Philcox. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2008

Type
Type: South Africa, near Pretoria, Dec. 1883, Wilms 977 (B†, holo.; K!, iso.)
Morphology General Habit
Aquatic herb with or without stolons
Morphology Leaves
Leaves radical, arcuate or erect, 3–15 cm long, lamina spatulate to oblong-spatulate, 1–4.5 cm long, 3–16 mm wide, attenuate at base into a stout petiole, apex obtuse to subacute, margins entire, ± 3-veined
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers axillary; pedicels (1–)2–5 cm long, erect in flower, reflexed in fruit
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 3–4 mm long, 5-lobed; lobes ovate, 1–1.5 mm, acute
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla white or mauve (especially on the outside), 4–5(–6) mm long; lobes oblong and ± pubescent on inner surface
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Filaments
Filaments white, slender, exserted.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Anthers
Anthers dark blue.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style nearly as long as corolla, inserted to one side of ovary
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule ovoid, 5 mm long
Figures
Fig 27
Ecology
Upland seepage areas and muddy slow-moving streams: 1800–2700 m
Conservation
Least Concern (LC)
Note
forma terrestris Glück in N.B.G.B 12: 77 (1934) is of no taxonomic value since it refers to small plants occurring on mud.
Distribution
Range: Congo-Kinshasa, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa Flora districts: U2 K3 K5 K6 T5 T6 T7
[FTEA]

Uses

Use
None recorded on specimens from our area
[FTEA]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • World Checklist of Vascular plants (WCVP)

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0