Stratiotes
{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the family Hydrocharitaceae}}
{{Other uses|Stratioti|Stratiotes (beetle)}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Water soldier
|image = Illustration Stratiotes aloides0.jpg
|image_caption = Stratiotes aloides1885 illustration of Stratoides aloides, water soldier from Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomas, Flora von Deutschland Österreich und der Schweiz. 1885, Gera, Germany
|display_parents = 2
|grandparent_authority = Luersson
|genus = Stratiotes
|parent_authority = L.
|species = aloides
|authority = L.
|synonyms =
- Stratiotes aquaticus Pall.
- Stratiotes ensiformis Gilib.
- Stratiotes aculeatus Stokes
- Stratiotes generalis E.H.L.Krause
}}
Stratiotes is a genus of submerged aquatic plant commonly known as water soldiers,{{PLANTS|id=STRAT|taxon=Stratiotes|accessdate=3 December 2015}} described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753.[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358554#page/547/mode/1up Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 535] in Latin{{Cite web|url=http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40006710|title=Tropicos {{!}} Name – Stratiotes L.|website=www.tropicos.org|access-date=2017-02-01}} Several specific names have been coined within the genus, but at present only one is recognized: Stratiotes aloides. native to Europe and NW Asia.{{Cite web|url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=308859|title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|website=apps.kew.org|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-02-01}}
;formerly included in genus
moved to other genera: Enhalus Hydrocleys Ottelia
- Stratiotes acoroides - Enhalus acoroides
- Stratiotes alismoides - Ottelia alismoides
- Stratiotes nymphoides - Hydrocleys nymphoides
- Stratiotes quinquealatus - Ottelia alismoides
Description
The leaves are serrate and very brittle, breaking easily when handled. Reproduction is generally by offsets, which may number five or more per plant. In the UK, male plants have rarely if ever been recorded, although some hermaphrodite flowers have been recorded from more southerly locations. Sexual reproduction is not known to occur. A characteristic of the genus is the habit of the plants rising to the surface at flowering time.
Ecology
The plant appears to be associated with calcareous waters and there is a suggestion that changing levels of calcium carbonate on the leaves may explain the floating and submerging behaviour.
Image:Water soldier plants.JPG
The rare dragonfly, the Norfolk hawker (Aeshna isosceles), relies on the presence of Stratiotes aloides as a food source for the smaller insects on which it feeds.
The plant is very winter hardy.
Fossil record
Several fossil seeds of †Stratiotes kaltennordheimensis have been extracted from borehole samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland.Łańcucka-Środoniowa M.: Macroscopic plant remains from the freshwater Miocene of the Nowy Sącz Basin (West Carpathians, Poland) [Szczątki makroskopowe roślin z miocenu słodkowodnego Kotliny Sądeckiej (Karpaty Zachodnie, Polska)]. Acta Palaeobotanica 1979 20 (1): 3-117.
Uses
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100925102555/http://www.invadingspecies.com/Invaders.cfm?A=Page&PID=43 Invading Species.com] Partnership between the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
{{Taxonbar|from=Q164167}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Hydrocharitaceae genera
Category:Monotypic Alismatales genera
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