Marsileaceae
Sign in to saveMarsileaceae is a small family of heterosporous aquatic and semi-aquatic ferns, though at first sight they do not physically resemble other ferns. The group is commonly known as the "pillwort family" after the genus Pilularia (pillwort), "pepperwort family" or as the "water-clover family" because the leaves of the genus Marsilea superficially resemble the leaves of a four-leaf clover. The family contains three genera; most of the species are in Marsilea. It is sister to the Salviniaceae, which is also aquatic and heterosporous. Fossils of the family are known as far back as the Triassic. The f
Species
FAMILY
- KingdomPlantae
- PhylumTracheophyta
- ClassPolypodiopsida
- OrderSalviniales
- FamilyMarsileaceae
via GBIF · Kew POWO
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 45
- With media
- 23
- Family
- Marsiliaceae
- Collections
- ANSP, RSA, TAES, IMA, IAP, IPA
- Recorded in
- United States, Kenya, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Brasil, Not Listed
Research
58 papers- Atavistic Stomatal Responses to Blue Light in Marsileaceae.Plant physiology · 2020
- Centriole assembly at a glance.Journal of cell science · 2019
- Stomatal density and mechanics are critical for high productivity: insights from amphibious ferns.The New phytologist · 2021
- Light, rather than circadian rhythm, regulates gas exchange in ferns and lycophytes.Plant physiology · 2023
- Mechanical advantage makes stomatal opening speed a function of evaporative demand.Plant physiology · 2024
via PubMed
~9 min read
Encyclopedic overview
7 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Morphology
- Life cycle
- Ecology
- Human uses
- References
- External links
Marsileaceae is a small family of heterosporous aquatic and semi-aquatic ferns, though at first sight they do not physically resemble other ferns. The group is commonly known as the "pillwort family" after the genus Pilularia (pillwort), "pepperwort family" or as the "water-clover family" because the leaves of the genus Marsilea superficially resemble the leaves of a four-leaf clover. The family contains three genera; most of the species are in Marsilea. It is sister to the Salviniaceae, which is also aquatic and heterosporous. Fossils of the family are known as far back as the Triassic. The family is distinctive in producing its spores inside sporocarps, which are bean-shaped structures borne near the bases of the leaves. Some species of Marsilea are grown in garden pools or aquaria.
== Taxonomy ==
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Marsileaceae” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.