Egeria (genus)

Egeria densa, stem with leaves

Egeria is a three- species plant genus in the family of frog bite plants ( Hydrocharitaceae ).

Features

Egeria species are perennial, herbaceous, the freshwater plants. Rhizomes and foothills are missing. The stem is erect, elongated, branched or unbranched, and is rooted in the substrate. The leaves are diving leaves and sit in whorls 5 or more located right on the stalks. The leaf blades are all of the same color, linear and have a lace end. The leaf base is at an angle to the stem. The blade side facing away from the stalk has neither thorns nor an aerenchyma. The midrib has on its sides not a series of wells.

The inflorescences are flowered and sessile. The Spathas are not winged. The plants are dioecious. The flowers are unisexual. The petals are white. In the male flowers the stamens are individually and the anthers linear. In the female flowers the ovary are single chamber and 3 pen not columns. The fruits are ovoid, smooth and bursting irregularly. The seeds are spindle-shaped and sticky.

Occurrence

The natural area of ​​Egeria includes South America. In addition, the genus in Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America has been introduced.

Species

The three species of the genus Egeria are:

• Dichtblättrige Waterweed - Egeria densa Planch.
• Egeria heterostemon S.Koehler & C.P.Bove
• Egeria najas Planch.

Documents

• Qingfeng Wang, Youhao Guo, Robert R. Haynes, C. Barre Hellquist: Egeria. In: Flora of China Vol 23 Hydrocharitaceae, pp. 91 and 102 (online)