Rotala mexicana

 

Aquatic or amphibious, heterophyllous annuals; stems profusely branched, slender, 4-angled, creeping or ascending, rooting at nodes. Leaves in whorls of 3-8 when submerged, capillary, to 5 mm long, aerial ones decussate, to 5 mm long and less than 1 mm broad, linear-oblong. Bracts leaf-like; bracteoles linear, usually as long as calyx tube. Flowers monomorphic, solitary, axillary, sessile, less than 1 mm long. Calyx tube 0.6 mm long, pink, lobes 4, triangular, 0.4-0.5 mm long, appendages absent. Petals absent. Stamens usually 2, inserted near the base of calyx tube, not exserted. Ovary globose, 0.5 mm across. Style short; stigma capitate. Capsule globose, to 0.8 mm across, 2-3 valved, slightly exceeds the calyx lobes; seeds 10-18, smooth, black, semi-obovate, 0.3 mm long.

Flowering and fruiting: July-November
In streams
Pantropical
Attributions- Dr. N Sasidharan (Dr. B P Pal Fellow), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi)


Rotala mexicana is an annual and widespreaded cosmopolitan species. In India it is commonly seen in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh (Cook 1996). It can be seen throughout the warmer parts of the world, northeast Africa, Arabia and Pacific Islands (Joseph and Sivarajan 1989).
It is annual and usually found in shallow water or on wet mud following rain. It is sometimes very short-lived and can complete its generative history in less than a month. It passes the dry period as seed (Cook 1996). A wide spread and variable species found usually in shallow water or wet or moist open grounds during monsoon. Sometimes looks like terrestrial algae, it is very short-lived and completes its life-cycle within a fortnight. In water of 10 cm or more deep, stem is erect and branched below and the submerged leaves ate linear, thin, usually in whorls (Joseph and Sivarajan 1989). 
Citation: Mani, S. 2011. Rotala mexicana. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 05 June 2014.)
 

 

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Id this Herb please : 3 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (1).
Attaching high quality image as i don’t have close up of this herb mobile image took in august Patan, Satra please id

August, 2013

Rotala mexicana