Floerkea

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Floerkea proserpinacoides flowering.jpg

| image_alt =

| image_caption = Minute, white, three-parted flowers

| status = G5

| status_system = TNC

| status_ref = {{Cite NatureServe |date=3 January 2025 |id=2.154969 |title=Floerkea proserpinacoides |access-date=23 January 2025}}

| genus = Floerkea

| parent_authority = Willd.

| species = proserpinacoides

| authority = Willd.

| synonyms_ref = {{cite POWO |id=372501-1 |title=Floerkea proserpinacoides Willd. |access-date=23 January 2025}}

| synonyms = {{Collapsible list | {{Species list

| Cabomba pinnata | (Pursh) Schult. & Schult.f.

| Nectris pinnata | Pursh

| Floerkea lacustris | Pers.

| Floerkea occidentalis | Rydb.

| Floerkea palustris | Nutt.

| Floerkea uliginosa | Muhl.

}}

}}

}}

Floerkea is a monotypic genus of plants in the meadowfoam family containing the sole species Floerkea proserpinacoides, which is known by the common names false mermaid, false mermaidweed, and floerkea. This tiny wildflower is native to many parts of North America, where it is found in moist areas, such as shady forests. It is a fleshy, annual herb which grows short stems which may lie flat on the ground, tangle into a clump, or grow somewhat erect. The foliage is hairless and shiny. The leaves are divided into many oval-shaped, pointed leaflets up to {{cvt|2|cm}} long. The flower is a cup of pointed green sepals containing three tiny white spoon-shaped petals and a bunch of stamens with yellow anthers. Growing in the center of the flower are the two to three fruits, which are bumpy, spherical nutlets.{{r|jm}}{{r|usda}}

In Vermont, the plant was not seen after 1916 until May 2024 when it was seen again.{{cite news |title=Botanists in Vermont rediscovered a plant last seen there at the start of WW1 |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/06/20/nx-s1-5010410/botanists-in-vermont-rediscovered-a-plant-last-seen-there-at-the-start-of-ww1 |access-date=20 June 2024 |date=June 20, 2024 |language=en}}{{cite web |last1=Kuta |first1=Sarah |title=Rare 'Absolutely Tiny' Plant, Not Seen for More Than a Century, Found in Vermont |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rare-absolutely-tiny-plant-not-seen-for-more-than-a-century-found-in-vermont-180984552/ |access-date=20 June 2024 |language=en |date=June 14, 2024 |archive-date=14 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614225348/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rare-absolutely-tiny-plant-not-seen-for-more-than-a-century-found-in-vermont-180984552/ |url-status=live }}

The logo for the Flora of North America is a Floerkea flower.{{cite book |title=Flora of North America |year=2010 |editor=Flora of North America Editorial Committee |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York and Oxford |url=http://floranorthamerica.org/ |access-date=2012-08-14 |archive-date=2012-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814085758/http://floranorthamerica.org/ |url-status=live }} The genus was named in honor of the German botanist, Heinrich Gustav Flörke.{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Val |url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q132874317 |title=Common Ground: Who's who in New Zealand botanical names. Supplement Two: Who's who in New Zealand botanical names. Supplement Two |date=2023-01-01 |language=English}}

{{Gallery

|Floerkea proserpinacoides BB-1913.png|Botanical illustration

|Floerkea proserpinacoides cotyledons.jpg|Three-parted cotyledons

|Floerkea proserpinacoides with flowers 8-5-9-001.jpg|Mature plants

}}