Alternanthera nodiflora
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Alternanthera nodiflora.jpg
|status =
|status_system =
|status_ref =
|genus = Alternanthera
|species = nodiflora
|authority = R.Br.
|synonyms = Alternanthera nodiflora var. linearifolia Moq.
Alternanthera nodiflora R.Br. var. nodiflora
Alternanthera triandra var. nodiflora (R.Br.) Maiden & Betche
}}
Alternanthera nodiflora (common name common joyweed) is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae.{{APNI2|id=84268|name=Alternanthera nodiflora}}{{cite book|author=Brown, R. |date=1810|title= Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et insulae Van-Diemen, exhibens characteres plantarum quas annis 1802-1805|pages= 417|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6157509}} It is endemic to Australia, growing in all mainland states.{{cite web|url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Alternanthera~nodiflora|author=S. W. L. Jacobs & L. Lapinpuro|date=1990|publisher=National Herbarium of NSW|accessdate=2020-05-23|title=Alternanthera nodiflor R.Br.}} It is naturalised in Tasmania, over much of Africa, in Japan, and in Myanmar.{{Cite web|title=Alternanthera nodiflora R.Br. {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science|url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:59266-1|website=Plants of the World Online|access-date=2020-05-23}}
Description
Alternanthera nodiflora is an erect annual herb. The branches are almost without a covering but the nodes are covered with dense intertwined hairs, and there are two lines of hairs along the branches. The leaves, too, are almost without a covering and are linear, 2-8 cm long and have smooth margins. The inflorescences are globular, and often clustered. The fruit is less than half the length of the perianth. The style is very short.{{Cite web|title=Fact sheet for Alternanthera nodiflora|url=http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/cgi-bin/speciesfacts_display.cgi?form=speciesfacts&name=Alternanthera_nodiflora|website=www.flora.sa.gov.au|access-date=2020-05-24}}
Taxonomy and naming
It was first described by Robert Brown in 1810. The type specimen is [https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.bm001015779 BM001015779] (collected on the east coast of Australia); Isotypes are [https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.e00279928 E00279928] (collected at Broadsound), [https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.p00622600 P00622600] (all three collected by Brown). The name is accepted by the Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria, by Plants of the World online, but is considered a synonym of Alternanthera sessilis by Catalogue of Life.{{Cite web|title=Catalogue of Life: Alternanthera nodiflora|url=http://www.catalogueoflife.org/col/search/all/key/Alternanthera+nodiflora|last=|first=|date=|website=www.catalogueoflife.org|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-05-23}}
The specific epithet, nodiflora, derives from the Latin, nodus,( "knot" or "node") and flos, floris ("flower") to give an adjective describing the plant as having flowers arranged in a knot-shaped inflorescence or flowering at the nodes.{{Cite web|title=nodiflorus,-a,-um|url=http://www.plantillustrations.org/epithet.php?id_epithet=205238%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class=|website=www.plantillustrations.org|access-date=2020-05-24}}
Gallery
Alternanthera nodiflora plant1 (8372256548).jpg
Alternanthera nodiflora flowers.jpg
Alternanthera nodiflora fruit.jpg
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://avh.ala.org.au/occurrences/search?taxa=Alternanthera+nodiflora#tab_mapView Alternanthera nodiflora occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q22111965}}