Alisma

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Alismatales

Familia: Alismataceae
Genus: Alisma
Species: A. canaliculatum – A. gramineum – A. lanceolatum – A. nanum – A. plantago-aquatica – A. praecox – A. rariflorum – A. subcordatum – A. triviale – A. wahlenbergii
Nothospecies: A. × bjoerkqvistii – A. × juzepczukii – A. × rhicnocarpum
Name

Alisma L., Sp. Pl. 1: 342 (1753).

Type species: Alisma plantago-aquatica L.

Synonyms

Homotypic
Plantaginastrum Heist. ex Fabr., Enum. 61 (1759).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Europe
Regional: Northern Europe
Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, Ireland, Norway, Sweden.
Regional: Middle Europe
Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland.
Regional: Southwestern Europe
Baleares, Corse, France, Portugal, Sardegna, Spain.
Regional: Southeastern Europe
Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Romania, Sicilia, Turkey-in-Europe, Yugoslavia.
Regional: Eastern Europe
Belarus, Baltic States, Krym, Central European Russia, East European Russia, North European Russia, South European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Ukraine.
Continental: Africa
Regional: Northern Africa
Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia.
Regional: Macaronesia
Azores, Canary Islands, Madeira.
Regional: West-Central Tropical Africa
Burundi, Rwanda, Zaire.
Regional: Northeast Tropical Africa
Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan.
Regional: East Tropical Africa
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda.
Regional: South Tropical Africa (introduced)
Angola, Zimbabwe.
Regional: Southern Africa
Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Northern Provinces (introduced).
Continental: Asia-Temperate
Regional: Siberia
Altay, Buryatiya, Chita, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Tuva, West Siberia, Yakutskiya.
Regional: Russian Far East
Amur, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Kuril Islands, Primorye, Sakhalin.
Regional: Middle Asia
Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Tadzhikistan, Uzbekistan.
Regional: Caucasus
North Caucasus, Transcaucasus.
Regional: Western Asia
Afghanistan, Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon-Syria, Palestine, Turkey.
Regional: China
China South-Central, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, China North-Central, Qinghai, China Southeast, Xinjiang.
Regional: Mongolia
Mongolia.
Regional: Eastern Asia
Japan, Korea, Nansei-shoto, Taiwan.
Continental: Asia-Tropical
Regional: Indian Subcontinent
Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, Nepal, Pakistan, West Himalaya.
Regional: Indo-China
Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam.
Continental: Australasia (introduced)
Regional: Australia
New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia.
Regional: New Zealand
New Zealand North, New Zealand South.
Continental: Northern America
Regional: Subarctic America
Alaska, Northwest Territories.
Regional: Western Canada
Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan.
Regional: Eastern Canada
New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Québec.
Regional: Northwestern U.S.A.
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming.
Regional: North-Central U.S.A.
Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin.
Regional: Northeastern U.S.A.
Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia.
Regional: Southwestern U.S.A.
Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah.
Regional: South-Central U.S.A.
New Mexico, Texas.
Regional: Southeastern U.S.A.
Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, District of Columbia.
Continental: Southern America (introduced)
Regional: Southern South America
Argentina South, Chile Central.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus I: 342. Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2015. Alisma in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2015 Mar 15. Reference page.
Karlsson, T. 2004. Checklista över Nordens kärlväxter – version 2004-01-19. Swedish Museum of Natural History (in Swedish). Published on internet.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Alisma in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2021 Nov 25. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2021. Alisma. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 25 Nov 2021.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Alisma. Published online. Accessed: 25 Nov 2021.
Hassler, M. 2021. World Plants. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. . Alisma. Accessed: 25 Nov 2021.
Hassler, M. 2021. Alisma. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2021 Nov 25. Reference page.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2019. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset. Taxon: Alisma. .

Vernacular names
العربية: مزمار الراعي
azərbaycanca: Baqəvər
беларуская: Шальнік
čeština: Žabník
dansk: Skeblad
Deutsch: Froschlöffel
Esperanto: Alismo
eesti: Konnarohi
suomi: Sarpiot
hornjoserbsce: Žabnik
日本語: サジオモダカ属
ქართული: წყლის მრავალძარღვა
қазақша: Кербезгүл
lietuvių: Dumblialaiškis
македонски: Воден тегавец
Nederlands: Waterweegbree
norsk: Vassgroslekten
polski: Żabieniec
русский: Частуха
slovenčina: žabník
svenska: Svaltingar
Türkçe: Su sinirli otu
Tiếng Việt: Chi Trạch tả
中文: 泽泻属

Alisma is a genus of flowering plants in the family Alismataceae, members of which are commonly known as water-plantains. The genus consists of aquatic plants with leaves either floating or submerged, found in a variety of still water habitats around the world (nearly worldwide).[1][2] The flowers are hermaphrodite, and are arranged in panicles, racemes, or umbels. Alisma flowers have six stamens, numerous free carpels in a single whorl, each with 1 ovule, and subventral styles. The fruit is an achene with a short beak.

The nineteenth century British art and social critic John Ruskin believed that the particular curve of the leaf-ribs of Alisma represented a model of 'divine proportion' and helped shape his theory of Gothic architecture.[3]

Copóg Phádraig ("Patrick's leaf") is the Irish name for the water-plantain. It is reputed to ward off fairies.

Water plantains are perennial plants. These herbs are usually emergent plants 0.1–1 m (4–40 in) high. They have broad leaves that can be either tapered or rounded at the base. When submerged, the plant produces ribbon-like leaves. Inflorescences are highly branched. They produce whorls of perfect flowers either white or pinkish. The fruits are flat-sided nutlets 2.5–3 mm (0.098–0.118 in) in length. These herbs usually flower in late May to early September, but this can vary with conditions.[4]

Water-plantains are wetland plants and found in saturated soils and shallow water as well as marshes, wooded swamps, shrub swamps and flooded farmland. When introduced to an area, water plantain can rapidly reproduce.
Species and subspecies

The following taxa are recognized as of May 2014:[2]

Alisma × bjoerkqvistii Tzvelev - Russia
Alisma canaliculatum A.Braun & C.D.Bouché - eastern Asia
Alisma gramineum Lej. - Europe, Asia, North Africa; minor naturalization in North America
Alisma × juzepczukii Tzvelev - Russia
Alisma lanceolatum Withering - Europe, Asia, North Africa; naturalized in Australia, New Zealand, California etc.
Alisma nanum D.F.Cui - Xinjiang
Alisma orientale
Alisma plantago-aquatica L. - Europe, Asia, Africa
Alisma plantago-aquatica subsp. orientale (Sam.) Sam.
Alisma plantago-aquatica subsp. plantago-aquatica
Alisma × rhicnocarpum Schotsman - western Europe
Alisma subcordatum Raf. eastern North America
Alisma triviale Pursh - North America
Alisma wahlenbergii (Holmb.) Juz. Baltic Sea region

References

"Alisma". Flora of North America.
Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
J. Mordaunt Crook, "Ruskinian Gothic" in The Ruskin Polygon: Essays on the Imagination of John Ruskin ed. John Dixon Hunt and Faith M. Holland (Manchester University Press, 1982) pp. 65–93.
Gleason and Cronquist (1991); Fernald (1970); Voss (1972).