Marsilea mollis B.L.Rob. & Fernald

  • Authority

    Mickel, John T. & Beitel, Joseph M. 1988. Pteridophyte Flora of Oaxaca, Mexico. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 46: 1-580.

  • Family

    Marsileaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Marsilea mollis B.L.Rob. & Fernald

  • Description

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    Species Description - Main rhizome brown to black with nodal roots, occasionally with an intemodal root, internodes 0.8-2.3 cm long, apices densely pilose, glabrate beneath, rhizome in water green; land fronds 1.114 cm long, petioles terete and pilose, leaflets 0.2-1.7 cm long, 0.1-1.6 cm wide, densely pilose beneath, sparsely pilose or glabrous above, lateral margin convex to straight; floating leaves 12.5-100 cm long, leaflets 0.5-2.6 cm long, 0.5-2.9 cm wide; abaxial intercostal striae irregularly distributed; fertile leaves on land, bearing one sporocarp on erect to slightly decumbent peduncle; sporocarps ovate in lateral view, often with conspicuous lateral ribs, gray-brown to brownish-black, covered with acicular 4-5-celled verrucose hairs, soon glabrate, 2.4-4 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, 1.3-1.7 mm thick; raphe 0.6-1.4 mm long, inferior tooth blunt or absent, superior tooth blunt or absent.

  • Discussion

    Type. Mexico. Chihuahua: San Diego, Hartman 604 (GH; isotypes F, GH, NY!, UC). Marsilea minuta Fournier, Bull. Soc. Bot. France 27: 329.1880, nom. illeg., non Linnaeus, 1771. Marsilea fournieri Christensen, Index filic. 418. 1906. Type. Mexico. Schaffner s.n. (P). The small sporocarps with spreading hairs, lacking a superior tooth and attached to wiry peduncles characterize this species. According to Davis (1936: 127), Pringle’s collecting of 7 June 1894 was southward as far as the stone quarries from the city of Oaxaca, collecting only a few specimens after dinner. Johnson (Amer. Fern J. 75: 30. 1985) was able to grow sporophytes from sporocarps from the Pringle collection from Oaxaca after the sporocarps had been dry for 89 years. Voucher specimens from the plants grown are deposited at MICH and F. Marsilea mollis bears sporocarps March through December (and perhaps all year) in Mexico. See M. ancylopoda for comparison.

  • Distribution

    Clay substrates in temporary ponds and lakes; Centro; 1800-3500 m (in entire range). Mexico (Son, Chih, Dgo, Jal, Mich, Ags, Mex, DF, SLP, Ver, Oax, Chis); US (Ariz, Tex); Col, Ec, Peru, Arg & Chile.

    Mexico North America| Chile South America| Argentina South America| Peru South America| Amazonas Ecuador South America| Colombia South America| Arizona United States of America North America| Texas United States of America North America|