Status: Native
Synonyms:
Marsilea fournieri Christensen
Marsilea minuta Fournier
Marsilea mucronata A. Braun
Marsilea vestita looks like a field of four leaf clovers along the edge of still pondwater. The expanded blades appear somewhat thick, and can range in color from light green, through yellow, red and brown. The blades can be held above the level of the water, especially when the water depth is shallow. The petioles are widely spread along the rhizome, which is shallowly buried in the muddy bottom. When the water is very clear, the blades can be seen to be each anchored by a petiole to the rhizome below.
Please click on an image for a larger file.
Marsilea vestita, photo Russ Kleinman, Bill Norris, Kelly Kindscher & Danielle Walkup, between Bursum Road and Reserve, Aug. 2, 2008
Marsilea vestita, closeup, photo Russ Kleinman, Bill Norris, Kelly Kindscher & Danielle Walkup, between Bursum Road and Reserve, Aug. 2, 2008
Marsilea vestita, growth habit, photo Russ Kleinman, Bill Norris, Kelly Kindscher & Danielle Walkup, between Bursum Road and Reserve, Aug. 2, 2008
Marsilea vestita, closeup of blades, photo Russ Kleinman, Richard Felger, Sarah Johnson & Kevin Keith, Cattle Tank just north of Apache Box and about one mile south of the GNF border, April 24, 2009
Marsilea vestita, blades in clear water with obvious petioles anchoring each one to the rhizome partly visible on the right, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Sycamore Creek near Cliff, October 22, 2009
Marsilea vestita, growing with commonly associated species-- Azolla mexicana (purplish in photo) and Lemna sp. (small, light green), photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Sycamore Creek near Cliff, October 22, 2009
Marsilea vestita, habitat, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Sycamore Creek near Cliff, October 22, 2009
Marsilea vestita, dense growth in shallow water with fronds held above the water, photo Russ Kleinman & Richard Felger, Sycamore Creek near Cliff, June 29, 2010
Back to the Index