Marsilea is a genus of approximately 65 species of Aquatic plant of the family Marsileaceae. The name honours Italian naturalist Luigi Ferdinando Marsili (1656–1730).
These small plants are of unusual appearance and do not resemble common ferns. Common names include water clover and four-leaf clover because of the long-stalked leaves have four clover-like lobes and are either present above water or submerged. It is worth clarifying that these plants are not clovers.
The sporocarps of some species are very drought-resistant, surviving up to 100 years in dry conditions. On wetting, the gelatinous interior of the sporocarp swells, splitting it and releasing a worm-like mass that carries Sorus, eventually leading to germination of and fertilization.
Uses
As food
Sporocarps of some Australian species such as
Marsilea drummondii are edible and have been eaten by Aborigines and early white settlers, who knew it under the name
ngardu or
nardoo. Parts of
Marsilea drummondii contain an
enzyme which destroys
thiamine (vitamin B
1), leading to brain damage in sheep and horses. During floods in the
Gwydir River basin 2,200 sheep died after eating nardoo. Three-quarters of the sheep that were affected did however respond to thiamine injections.
[Watt, Bruce, Managing the land – Toxic Plants, Pro Grazier, Winter, 2009, MLA] Thiamine deficiency from incorrectly prepared nardoo likely resulted in the starvation and death of Burke and Wills.
The leaves of Marsilea crenata are part of the East Javanese cuisine of Indonesia, especially in the city of Surabaya. It is called Pecel Semanggi and is served with spicy Pecel.
Ornamental
A few species in the genus, such as
Marsilea crenata,
Marsilea exarata,
Marsilea hirsuta, and
Marsilea quadrifolia, are grown in
Aquarium.
Formerly placed here
Phylogeny
Molecular
Phylogenetics analysis of the genus
Marsilea shows the following tree.
This tree indicates that
Marsilea crenata is the same species (or a subspecies) of
Marsilea minuta, and possibly
M. fadeniana also. Additionally, this analysis contradicts reports
[Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 25 Sep 2017 http://www.tropicos.org/Name/26602149] that
M. polycarpa is a synonym for
M. minuta
Other species include:
-
Marsilea aethiopica Launert
-
Marsilea apposita Launert
-
Marsilea batardae Launen
-
Marsilea burchellii Alexander Braun
-
Marsilea condensata Bak.
-
Marsilea cryptocarpa Albr. & Chinnock
-
Marsilea fenestrata Launert
-
Marsilea globulosa Bouchart
-
Marsilea hickenii Herter
-
Marsilea latzii Jones
-
Marsilea megalomanica Launert
-
Marsilea pyriformis Bouchart
-
Marsilea quadrata Brown
-
Marsilea ×subangulata Brown
-
Marsilea subterranea Leprieur
-
Marsilea unicornis Launert
-
Marsilea vera Launert
See also
-
Mabberley, D.J. (1997). The Plant-Book. Cambridge University Press.
-
Edmund Russow: Histologie und Entwicklungsgeschichte der Sporenfrucht von Marsilia. Dissertation. Dorpat 1871 ( PDF)
-
Johnson 1986 Systematics of the New World species of Marsilea. Syst. Bot. Monog. 11:1–87.
-
World species list for Marsilea
