Hydrocotyle umbellata L.

Global description

Hydrocotyle umbellata is an aquatic or subaquatic, floating or creeping, slightly succulent herbaceous plant. The stem is floating or creeping stoloniferous. The leaves are simple, alternate, petiolate with a blade peltate towards the centre, orbicular or a little kidney-shaped, 0.5 to 7.5 cm in diameter, with a crenellated or slightly 8 to 20 lobed margin. The leaf blade is succulent and glabrous on both sides, the venation is radiate. The petiole is slender, 0.5 to 40 cm long. Inflorescence in a single umbel at the end of an erect stalk that is usually longer than the leaves. The umbel has 10-60 flowers borne on slender pedicels 2-25 mm long, erect, spreading to reflexed. The involucral bracts are numerous, small and ovate. The corolla is white, sometimes yellow or purple. The fruit is ellipsoid to suborbicular, 1-2 mm long and 2-3 mm wide, with obvious obtuse ribs. The stylopod in a depression at the top of the fruit.

Origin

Hydrocotyle umbellata is native from the southern USA to Chile and Paraguay. The species is also found in the Caribbean (West Indies), but not in Brazil.

https://www.gbif.org/fr/species/3034614