Plant and Tree Identification: SOLVED: Wetlands plant with inconspicuous white flower

Forum: Plant and Tree Identification Replies: 8, Views: 133 Print -

Author Content jehartg Baton Rouge, LA May 12, 2008 10:19 PM Post #4943337 These plants grow at the edge of the swamp at Bluebonnet Nature Center in Baton Rouge, LA. They grow in mud and shallow water. They resemble alligator weed, which we have in other parts of the park, but are not the same. We thought we would wait for them to flower, before sending in photos for ID, but they seemed to never flower. Finally Angie noticed a very small, white flower about 4 or 6 inches down the stem from the top on some of the plants. The plants are usually about 1 to 2 feet tall, sometimes 2.5 feet. The mature leaves are 3 to 4 inches long. Doesn't seem like much eats these plants. Maybe they are not native. I will attach several notes in series to show several photos that may help with the ID. John Click the image for an enlarged view. jehartg Baton Rouge, LA May 12, 2008 10:22 PM Post #4943355 This picture shows some more views of the plant. Click the image for an enlarged view. jehartg Baton Rouge, LA May 12, 2008 10:24 PM Post #4943371 This picture shows some close-ups of the flower. Click the image for an enlarged view. jehartg Baton Rouge, LA May 12, 2008 10:25 PM Post #4943379 This picture gives a perspective on the size of the flower. Click the image for an enlarged view. peachespickett Huntington, AR May 12, 2008 11:34 PM Post #4943672 Well, I have no idea what the plant is, but I have to say, the presentation was quite professional. suse Bretten Germany May 13, 2008 03:27 AM Post #4944124 I don't have an idea, which plant it is, but the third pic seems to show a fruit, which may belong to Acanthaceae. jehartg Baton Rouge, LA May 13, 2008 06:46 PM Post #4946988 Angie mentioned that she thought it might be a Hygrophila. I did a search and one I found was Hygrophila polysperma. Under a "Quick ID" I found a sketch that shows a lot of features of the plant I posted. The sketch fits very well, some of the photos on the same site do not fit as well. Maybe this a related plant, but not exactly the same. Maybe the details are different because ours are not growing submerged as seems to be typical for Hygrophila polysperma . I will try a link to the sketch. I haven't done one before, so it might not work. http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/seagrant/hygpol2.jpg John jehartg Baton Rouge, LA May 15, 2008 07:47 AM Post #4953848 Thought I would give a little update: Angie has me convinced that hygrophia lacustris (Lake acanthus) would be a better fit for our plant. Lake acanthus is supposed to have blue flowers and we haven't seen those. Actually we haven't seen flowers all the way open, so maybe they are blue and not white like I thought from the buds in the photos I posted. Or maybe the blue is not strong in our plants. In our swamp, they don't get much sun and I wonder if that color affect the color. Hygrophia plants are often used in aquariums and Angie has posted the ID question in a forum that discusses that topic. John jehartg Baton Rouge, LA July 03, 2009 08:26 PM Post #6774426 Today I found some open blossoms on this plant that I posted last year. After following some Google leads, it seems to be: Lake hygrophila Hygrophila costata (Syn. Hygrophila lacustris) Native to Florida See: http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/node/190 and: http://www.dcnr.state.al.us/fishing/freshwater/where/ponds/p... I will call this "solved". Thanks for the help. John Click the image for an enlarged view.

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