Alisma triviale (Northern Water Plantain)

Plant Info

Also known as:	Large-flowered Water Plantain
Genus:	Alisma
Family:	Alismataceae (Water Plantain)
Life cycle:	perennial
Origin:	native
Habitat:	sun; bogs, swamps, shallow mucky water, along shores
Bloom season:	summer
Plant height:	6 to 40 inches
USDA PLANTS database:	Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Battle Creek Regional Park Long Lake Regional Park Rice Creek Trail Corridor Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park

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Detailed Information

Flower:

Flowers are whorled in open clusters on many branches coming off the main stem. Individual flowers are about ¼ inch across, 3 white petals with a spot of yellow at the base, 3 sepals that are much shorter than the petals, and 6 stamens surrounding the yellowish to green center.

Leaves:

Leaves are in a basal rosette about 12 inches tall, generally oval with a pointed tip and tapering some or rounded at the base. Leaves are up to 7 inches long and 3 inches wide, hairless, toothless, with mostly parallel veins and a long leaf stem.

Fruit:

Fruit is a ring of seeds less than ¼ inch in diameter that turns from green to brown as it ripens.

Notes:

There is a similar species, A. subcordatum, which has smaller flowers with sepals as long as or longer than the petals, but is otherwise nearly identical. The flowers are also similar to Arrowhead, but Arrowhead is much larger—½ to 1 inch across.

More photos

• Northern Water Plaintain plant, about 3 feet tall
• close-up of a flower
• a colony of plants in shallow water, not yet in bloom

Photos taken at Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park, Shoreview, MN and Long Lake Regional Park, New Brighton, MN June-July and October 2008

Comments

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