Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Hottonia inflata
FAMILY
Primulaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
This is an odd and somewhat "ugly" plant, looking more like a Myriophyllum or Proserpinaca than a species of Primulaceae somewhat related to Lysimachia! Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Hottonia inflata
FAMILY
Primulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Hottonia inflata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 8 (2009)
Hottonia inflata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Hottonia inflata
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 147-06-001:
Hottonia inflata FAMILY Primulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hottonia inflata
COMMON NAME:
Featherfoil, Water-violet
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_hoin_001_lvd
Photos or drawings help to show what this species truly looks like...
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_hoin_004_lvd
...as words cannot fully describe it! , per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
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Keith Bradley kab_236323325586058
April SC
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Keith Bradley kab_247182701117765
April SC
Leaves feather-like, finely divided into numerous needle-like segments, each leaf ~ 2" x 3/4", per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
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Keith Bradley kab_612489697049471
April SC
Flowering "stalks" erect, fleshy, bases curved, nodes w tiny white flowers, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
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Keith Bradley kab_929527468288585
April SC
"as if a cactus and a bladderwort had a baby..." [Facebook comment]
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Eric Ungberg ung_20200610_150648
June Granville County NC
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Eric Ungberg ung_20200610_151440
June Granville County NC
)
Eric Ungberg ung_20200610_151453
June Granville County NC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Hottonia inflata
FAMILY
Primulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Hottonia inflata
FAMILY
Primulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Hottonia inflata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 8
Hottonia inflata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Hottonia inflata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 147-06-001:
Hottonia inflata
FAMILY
Primulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hottonia inflata
4350
Submersed aquatic w flowers & fruits above the surface (rooted); Forb
Winter annual
Habitat: Slow-moving or stagnant waters of swamps, millponds, beaverponds, sag ponds, oxbows, rivers, probably dispersed by waterfowl, primarily in the Coastal Plain, very rarely in the Piedmont and Mountains, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple: pectinate
Alternate, opposite, or whorled
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Radially symmetrical
5 sepals
5-lobed corolla
5 stamens
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".