Montia chamissoi
Encyclopedia
Montia chamissoi is a species of flowering plant in the purslane family
known by the common names toad lily and water miner's lettuce. It is native to much of western North America from Alaska
to the southwestern and central United States, where it grows in moist to wet soils in a variety of habitat types, such as meadows and wetland
s. It is sometimes aquatic
, anchoring in mud and floating in water.
and spreading via stolon
s. The fleshy stems are erect, creeping, tangled in mats, or floating, growing up to about 30 centimeters long. The oblong or widely lance-shaped leaves are oppositely arranged and measure up to 5 centimeters in length. The inflorescence
is a raceme
of 2 or more flowers, sometimes arising from leaf axils. The flower has usually five white or pinkish petals just under a centimeter in length, five stamen
s and a style
tipped with three stigmas.
Portulacaceae
Portulacaceae are a family of flowering plants, comprising about 20 genera with about 500 species, ranging from herbaceous plants to shrubs. The family has been recognised by most taxonomists, and is also known as the purslane family; it has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the highest diversity...
known by the common names toad lily and water miner's lettuce. It is native to much of western North America from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
to the southwestern and central United States, where it grows in moist to wet soils in a variety of habitat types, such as meadows and wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s. It is sometimes aquatic
Aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...
, anchoring in mud and floating in water.
Description
Montia chamissoi is a perennial herb growing from a pinkish rhizomeRhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
and spreading via stolon
Stolon
In biology, stolons are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external skeletons.-In botany:...
s. The fleshy stems are erect, creeping, tangled in mats, or floating, growing up to about 30 centimeters long. The oblong or widely lance-shaped leaves are oppositely arranged and measure up to 5 centimeters in length. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of 2 or more flowers, sometimes arising from leaf axils. The flower has usually five white or pinkish petals just under a centimeter in length, five stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s and a style
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
tipped with three stigmas.