Caldesia is a genus of aquatic plants. It includes three living species widespread across Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.[1][2][3] The genus "has an extensive Oligocene through Pleistocene fossil record in Eurasia,"[4] and has been found in fossil strata of the United States (Idaho and Vermont) as well. Ten fossil species have been described for the genus.
| Caldesia | |
|---|---|
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| Caldesia parnassifolia | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Alismatales |
| Family: | Alismataceae |
| Genus: | Caldesia Parl. |
| Species | |
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See text | |
Taxonomy
editThe genus name of Caldesia is in honour of Ludovico (Luigi) Caldesi (1821 - 1884), an Italian politician and botanist.[5]
The genus was circumscribed by Filippo Parlatore in Fl. Ital. Vol.3 on page 598 in 1860.
Description
editLeaves all basal, floating or aerial, ovate to elliptical, cordate or subcordate. Flowers hermaphrodite, in racemes or panicles. Stamens 6(-11). Carpels few or numerous in a single whorl, free, each with 1 ovule; styles subventral. Fruitlets drupaceous, with woody endocarp and spongy exocarp, swollen, with a short subventral beak, smooth or with tubercles or spines.
Selected species
edit- Caldesia brandoniana †
- Caldesia grandis Sam. - Assam, Bangladesh, southern China
- Caldesia oligococca (F.Muell.) Buchanan
- Caldesia oligococca var. acanthocarpa (F.Muell.) Hartog - Queensland, Northern Territory (of Australia)
- Caldesia oligococca var. echinata Hartog - western Africa from Mali to Chad, plus India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Java
- Caldesia oligococca var. oligococca - Timor, Queensland
- Caldesia parnassifolia (L.) Parl. (synonym: Caldesia reniformis (D.Don) Makino) - widespread across Europe, Asia, Africa, Queensland
References
edit- ^ "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". apps.kew.org. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
- ^ Altervista Flora Italiana, Mestolaccia minore, Parnassus Leaved Water Plantain, Caldesia parnassifolia
- ^ "Caldesia in Flora of China @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
- ^ Haggard, Kristina K.; Tiffney, Bruce H. (1997). "The Flora of the Early Miocene Brandon Lignite, Vermont, USA. VIII. Caldesia (Alismataceae)". American Journal of Botany. 84 (2). American Journal of Botany, Vol. 84, No. 2: 239–252. doi:10.2307/2446086. JSTOR 2446086. PMID 21712204.
- ^ Burkhardt, Lotte (2022). Eine Enzyklopädie zu eponymischen Pflanzennamen [Encyclopedia of eponymic plant names] (pdf) (in German). Berlin: Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin. doi:10.3372/epolist2022. ISBN 978-3-946292-41-8. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
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