Vallisneria americana
{{Short description|Species of aquatic plant}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Vallisneria americana UMFS 3.JPG
|status=LC
|status_system=IUCN3.1
| genus = Vallisneria
| species = americana
| authority = Michx.
}}
Vallisneria americana, commonly called wild celery, water-celery, tape grass, or eelgrass,{{GRIN | access-date = 1 January 2018}} is a plant in the family Hydrocharitaceae, the "tape-grasses". It is native to the Americas, especially eastern North America.
V. americana is a fresh water species that can tolerate salt, living in salinities varying from fresh water (0 parts per thousand) to 18 parts per thousand, although the limit to the salt tolerance is unclear and is generally dependent on the duration and intensity of the plants' exposure to the saline water. V. americana grows under water and is consumed by various animals, including the canvasback.
Description
The plants are long, limp, flat, and have a green mid-ridge.
V. americana generally maintains its population by clonal reproduction through the use of runners, but they are also capable of reproducing through the use of seeds.{{cite book |last1=Korschgen |first1=Carl |title=American Wildcelery (Vallisneria americana):Ecological Considerations for Restoration |last2=Green |first2=William |date=1988 |publisher=Fish and Wildlife Technical Report |edition=19 |location=La Crosse, Wisconsin |pages=1–24}}{{cite journal |last1=Jarvis |first1=Jessie |last2=Moore |first2=Kenneth |date=2008 |title=Influence of environmental factors on Vallisneria americana seed germination |journal=Aquatic Botany |volume=88 |issue=4 |pages=283–294 |doi=10.1016/j.aquabot.2007.12.001}} Salinity seems to affect the germination process in the same way it does the growth of the plant. The female flowers are solitary and at the end of an incredibly long and thin pedicel; up to ten feet (three meters) in length, while less than 1/25th inch (one millimeter) thick.{{cite book |last=Rickett |first=Harold W. |title=Flowers of the United States - Volume 2 -Part one |date=1967 |publisher=McGraw-Hill Book Co. |location=New York |page=82}}
Distribution and habitat
It is native to Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Venezuela. It is found primarily in eastern North America, occurring west from Nova Scotia to South Dakota and South to the Gulf of Mexico. It has also been reported in the western states of Washington, Nebraska, New Mexico and Arizona.
The salinity tolerance of V. americana has been up to debate, and has been topic of many scientific research and experiments. It has been suggested that the difference between the collected data sets is due to the varying duration of the experiments and the different methodology used in each experiment.{{cite journal |last1=Boustany |first1=Ronald |last2=Michot |first2=Thomas |last3=Moss |first3=Rebecca |date=2010 |title=Effects of salinity and light on biomass and growth of Vallisneria americana from Lower St. Johns River, FL, USA |journal=Wetlands Ecology and Management |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=203–217 |doi=10.1007/s11273-009-9160-8 |s2cid=24446372}} The highest tolerance range is generally noted to be anywhere from ten parts per thousand to twenty parts per thousand.{{cite journal |last1=Doering |first1=P |last2=Chamberlain |first2=R |last3=Donohue |first3=K |last4=Steinman |first4=A |date=1999 |title=Effect of salinity on the growth of Vallisneria americana Michx. From the Caloosahatchee estuary, Florida |journal=Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Science |volume=62 |issue=2 |pages=89–105}}{{cite journal |last1=Lauer |first1=N |last2=Yeager |first2=M |last3=Kahn |first3=A |last4=Dobberfhl |first4=D |last5=Ross |first5=C |date=2011 |title=The effects of short term salinity exposure on the sublethal stress respons of Vallisneria americana Michx (Hydrocharitaceae) |journal=Aquatic Botany |volume=95 |issue=3 |pages=207–213 |doi=10.1016/j.aquabot.2011.06.002}} Many experiments have shown that the general trend of growth is that as the salinity of the water goes up, the growth of the plant decreases, but the roots of the plants are known to show greater tolerance to salinity than the shoots do.
Ecology
Like many seagrass ecosystems, V. americana beds provide a rich abundance of prey as food for other species, and is a refuge for many species, including commercial, recreational, endangered and invasive organisms, and also acts as a nursery for fishery species.{{cite journal |last1=Rozas |first1=Lawrence |last2=Minello |first2=Thomas |date=2006 |title=Nekton Us of Vallisneria americana Michx. (Wild Celery) Beds and Adjacent Habitats in Coastal Louisiana |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1232591 |journal=Estuaries and Coasts |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=297–310 |doi=10.1007/bf02781998 |s2cid=84128307}} Beds of V. americana, especially in Louisiana, have been known to be homes to many crustacean, gastropods, invertebrates and fish, and have been known to be grazed on by West Indian Manatees.{{cite journal |last1=Doering |first1=P. |last2=Chamberlain |first2=R. |last3=McMunigal |first3=J |date=2001 |title=Effects of simulated saltwater intrusions on the Growth and Survival of Wild Celery, Vallisneria americana, from the Caloosahatchee Estuary (South Florida) |journal=Estuaries |volume=24 |issue=6A |pages=894–903 |doi=10.2307/1353180 |jstor=1353180 |s2cid=84460897}} The beds of V. americana are great at stabilizing sediment and shorelines, facilitating detrital food webs, and improving water quality by filtering the surrounding water.
Uses
V. americana is cultivated for the aquarium trade, where it is a sold as a background plant.{{cite web |last=Wilson |first=Rhonda |title=Vallisneria |url=http://www.tfhmagazine.com/aquatic-plants/columns/vallisneria.htm |access-date=10 December 2013 |work=Tropical Fish Hobbyist |publisher=TFH Publications}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikispecies|Vallisneria americana}}
- [http://www.dnr.state.md.us/Bay/sav/key/wild_celery.asp Maryland DNR's Bay Grass ID Key] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061014050307/http://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/sav/key/wild_celery.asp |date=2006-10-14 }}: Wild celery
- [http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/aquatic_plants/submerged_plants/wild_celery.html Minnesota DNR Aquatic plant information]: Wild celery
- [http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/wildcel/index.htm USGS NPWRC report]: American Wildcelery (Vallisneria americana) -- Ecological Considerations for Restoration
- [https://archive.org/stream/mobot31753000507332#page/220/ Flora boreali-Americana 2:220. 1803]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2561951}}
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Category:Flora of Northern America
Category:Flora of Southern America