SPECIES DESCRIPTION
CALLITRICHE BRUTIA
Family and Genus:- See- PLANTAGINACEAE
Common Names:- Pedunculate water-starwort
Homotypic Synonyms:- Callitriche intermedia ssp. pedunulata, Callitriche
pedunulata.
Meaning:- Callitriche (Gr) Beautiful-hair.
Brutia (L) From Calabris, S. Italy.
General description:- Usually annual, slender, submerged, floating or sometimes
terrestrial.
Leaves:-
1) Submerged, linear, not widened at apex, often irregularly emarginate;
2) Floating rosettes. with elliptical or slightly obovate leaves;
a) terrestrial form, leaves elliptical, dark green.
3) Disc of the cauline hairs, elliptical, often somewhat irregular in outline, of 8-16
cells.
Flowers:-
1) Styles, deflexed, appressed to the sides of the fruit.
2) Anthers, c. 0.5 mm; pollen colourless.
3) Pollen-grains, subglobose.
Fruit:-
1) 1-1·4 × 1-1·2 mm, suborbicular or slightly longer than wide:
a) subsessile in aquatic form.
b) peduncle, up to 13 mm in terrestrial form.
c) mericarps, mostly broadly winged.
Key features:-
1) Styles strongly reflexed, appressed to the sides of the fruits.
Habitat:- Vernal pools, ponds and ditches, occasionally in brackish water. 0-1100
m.
Distribution:- Widespread in Europe and the Mediterranean area. Rare on Crete
known only from isolated areas in the Lefka Ori and NE of Dikti mountains.
Flowering time:- Mar-Jun.
Photo by:- Dr. Armin Jagel
