Azolla mexicana

Azolla mexicana
drawing circa 1905[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pteridophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida /
Pteridopsida (disputed)
Order: Salviniales
Family: Azollaceae
Genus: Azolla
Species: A. mexicana
Binomial name
Azolla mexicana
Schltdl. & Cham. ex Kunze May 1845
Synonyms[2]
  • Azolla mexicana Schltdl. & Cham. 1830, name without description
  • Azolla mexicana C. Presl, December 1845

Azolla mexicana is an aquatic fern native to Mexico, British Columbia and the western United States (California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Nevada). [3]

There are reports of the species also occurring in the Great Plains of the central United States, but these reports need further study for verification.[3]

Description

Azolla mexicana is a floating aquatic with blue-green to dark red leaves. It is distinguished from the two other species of the genus present in North America, Azolla caroliniana and Azolla filiculoides, by having multicellular hairs on the leaves and pits on the megaspores.[4][5][6]

References

  1. Hippolyte Coste - Flore descriptive et illustrée de la France, de la Corse et des contrées limitrophes, 1901-1906 - - This image is in public domain because its copyright has expired
  2. Tropicos
  3. 1 2 Flora of North America Azolla mexicana
  4. Svenson, H. K. 1944. The New World species of Azolla. American Fern Journal 34: 69--84.
  5. Zimmerman, W. J., T. A. Lumpkin, and I. Watanabe. 1989. Classification of Azolla spp., section Azolla. Euphytica 43: 223--232.
  6. Kunze, Gustav. Linnaea 18(3): 352. 1845.
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