Baldellia ranunculoides (L.) Parl.

GLobal description

Baldellia ranunculoides is a vivacious aquatic species with a rhizome, small in size, forming a rosette of small, narrowly elliptical leaves marked by 3 prominent veins. The inflorescence is a simple umbel with a pinkish white flower with 3 broadly obovate petals at the end of each peduncle. The carpels are arranged in several rows, forming a globose head.

Cotyledons

Cotyledons are linear.

First leaves

The first leaves are rosette-arranged, erect, with a linear or narrowly elliptic blade, at first without a distinct petiole and then the base of the blade is gradually attenuated into a petiole.

General habit

Baldellia ranunculoides is an aquatic vivacious species rooted in the soil, and growing in a rosette of upright leaves erected above the water surface. Together with the inflorescence it is 10-40 cm high.

Underground system

The underground system consists of short, fibrous rhizomes from which fasciculated roots develop.

Stem

The stem is cylindrical, hairless and smooth, usually erect, sometimes decumbent and radicating at the lower nodes that are more or less leafy .

Leaf

Leaves are simple, alternate, all basal, rosette-arranged, slightly fleshy and erect, with the blade projecting above the water surface. They are borne on a long petiole of 5 to 15 cm, cylindrical but widened at the base and slightly sheathing. The blade is narrowly elliptic to narrowly lanceolate, 5 to 15 cm long and 1 to 3 cm wide. The apex is acute wedge-shaped or acuminate and the base wedge-shaped, gradually attenuating into the  petiole. The margin is entire, both sides glabrous, and marked with 3 prominent longitudinal veins.

Inflorescence

The inflorescence is an umbellate terminal whorl or sometimes in 2 or 3 successive whorls spaced apart. Each whorl consists of 3 to 10 flowers with peduncles of very unequal length, with a membranous lanceolate bract at the base of the peduncles. 

Flower

The flower is borne on a 1 to 8 cm long, cylindrical, hairless peduncle. It consists of a calyx with 3 oval, lanceolate, membranous sepals that turn brown, and a corolla with 3 pinkish-white petals with a small yellow spot at the base, broadly obovate, with a rounded, denticulate apex. Petals are 2 to 3 times larger than the sepals. Stamens 6, opposite the petals. Carpels are numerous, arranged in several rows on a rounded receptacle and form a globose head.

Fruit

The fruit is an obovoid achene, 2 mm long, mucronate at the apex and marked by 5 longitudinal, prominent and unequal angles.

Origine

Baldellia ranunculoides occurs in Western Europe de l'ouest, in Turkey, Northern Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia).

https://www.gbif.org/species/2864546