Monochoria vaginalis (N.L. Burman) Kunth
Family
Pontederiaceae
Synonyms
Pontederia vaginalis N.L. Burman, P. pauciflora Blume, Gomphima vaginalis (N.L. Burman) Rafinesque.
Vernacular Names
|
Malaysia |
Kelayar, keladi agak. |
|
English |
Oval-leaved pondweed, oval-leaved monochoria, pickerel weed. |
|
Indonesia |
Eceng padi, eceng leutik, wewehan. |
|
Philippines |
Biga-bigaan (Tagalog), gabing uwak (Tagalog), bilagut (Ilocano). |
|
Cambodia |
Chrach. |
|
Thailand |
Khakhiat, ninlabon (Central), phakhin (North-eastern). |
|
Vietnam |
Rau ch[os]c, rau m[as]c l[as] thon. |
Geographical Distributions
Monochoria vaginalis is native to South Asia, throughout Southeast Asia, extending also to China, Japan, Fiji islands and northern Australia. It has become naturalised in Hawaii, California and in rice fields of Russia and Italy. It is sometimes cultivated as a vegetable.
Description
Monochoria vaginalis is an annual herb and rarely rhizomatous. The stems are creeping or ascending. The petiole is up to 50 cm long. The leaf blade is linear or lance-shaped to ovate and measuring 2-21 cm x 0.2-10 cm. The inflorescence is very variable, with (1-)2-7(-20) flowers that become strongly deflexed in fruit. The peduncle is 2-50 cm long. The lower spathe is with sheath 1-3.7 cm long. The petiole is 0.5-7 cm, with linear or lance-shaped to ovate or cordate blade and measuring 1.3-10 cm x 0.3-15 cm. The upper spathe is 1-3.5 cm long. The pedicel is up to 3 cm long. The tepals measure 8-15 mm x 8 mm. There are 6 stamens where 5 of them are yellow and 1 blue. The style is 2-5 mm long. The fruit is ellipsoidal to ovoid and measuring 0.8-1.2 mm x 0.4-0.7 mm. The seed is ovoid, measuring 0.5-1 mm x 0.3-6 mm and with 8-10 narrow wings. (1)
Ecology / Cultivation
Monochoria vaginalis occurs from the plains up to 1500 m. It is most common in eutrophic water, but may be found also in brackish and oligotrophic water. It is a stress-tolerant ruderal.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
