ALISMA GRAMINEUM
Common Names:- Ribbon-leaved water-plantain, Narrowleaf water-plantain.
Homotypic synonyms:- Alisma plantago-aquatica var. gramineum
Meaning:- Alisma (Gr) Used by the Greek physician Dioscorides for a plantain-
leaved water plant.
Gramineum (L) Meaning "grassy" or "like grass," which describes the
narrow, grass-like or ribbon-like submerged leaves of the plant.
General description:- An aquatic or semi-aquatic perennial herb, that grows as a
submerged aquatic, an emergent wetland plant, or a terrestrial plant on exposed
mud.
Root:-
1) Features a starchy underground corm that allows for vegetative reproduction via
division
Stems:-
1) Stems and submerged structures can reach lengths of 15 to 60 cm, The aerial
flowering stems support an open, branched, bracteate panicle,
Leaves:-
1) The foliage is highly plastic depending on whether the plant is submerged or
emerged.
2) Submerged, ribbon-like, grass-like, and linear, growing up to 100 cm long,
narrow (often lacking a distinct petiole).
3) Floating, stiff and wider, featuring a short petiole with linear-lanceolate to narrowly
elliptic blades (2-6 cm long and under 2 cm wide).
Flowers:-
1) Inflorescence, a delicate, branched panicle with somewhat recurved branches and
pedicels that emerge above shallow water
2) Flowers, that remain underwater stay closed and self-pollinate.
3) Flowers, that rise above the water surface open fully, and are delicate, measuring
about 4 to 8 mm across.
4) Sepals, 3, green or acute, (1.5-2.5 mm long) and 3 obovate, obtuse white to
purplish-white petals.
5) Stamens, shorter than the ovaries, with small orbicular anthers and short,
recurved styles
Fruit:-
1) Achenes, obovate, roughly 2.5 mm long, characterized by 3 distinct ridges on the
back and a characteristic spirally coiled style.
Key Characteristics:-
1) Leaves, extremely plastic;
a) submerged, very long, narrow, and ribbon-like,
b) floating, can be lance-linear or narrowly elliptic.
2) Flowers, tiny, (4–8 mm across), pale pink to white with a purple tint. staying
closed and self-pollinating when submerged, but open when growing above the
water surface.
3) Achenes, arranged in a ring or tight whorled head, uniquely featuring a spirally
coiled style and a shape widest near the top.
Toxicity:- Contains raw, acrid irritant compounds that can cause mouth and
stomach irritation if eaten fresh.
Habitat:- Grows as a submerged aquatic, emergent, or terrestrial plant in shallow
fresh or brackish water, muddy shores, and slow-moving or still lowland waters.
Distribution:- Distributed widely across temperate and subarctic regions of the
Northern Hemisphere, including Eurasia, North Africa, and North. A rare, critically
endangered native species in Great Britain with a very precarious presence.
Persistent wild populations are restricted to just a couple of locations, specifically
Westwood Great Pool in Worcestershire and the Spalding area in South
Lincolnshire
Flowering time:- From June to September
Status:- Critically Endangered, rare, and protected under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife
and Countryside Act 1981. It is also a Biodiversity Action Plan priority species
subject to a Species Recovery Programme
Photos by:- Saxifraga-Ed Stikvoort