Haloragidaceae

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

Read about Haloragidaceae in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Haloragidaceae (from the genus Haloragis, meaning sea + a berry). Water Milfoil Family. Fig. 44. Herbs, aquatic or terrestrial, of very diverse appearance: leaves opposite or alternate, often in the same genus, pectinate (aquatic) to very large and divided: flowers bisexual or unisexual, regular; sepals 4; petals 4 or 0; stamens 8, the outer opposite the petals, or 4, rarely fewer; ovary inferior, 1-4-celled, each cell 1-ovuled: fruit nut-like, often crowned by the calyx. Eight genera and about 100 species are known, of general distribution. These are most abundant in the southern hemisphere of the Old World. They are represented in South America and elsewhere by the queer Gunnera and in the eastern United States by Hippuris, Myriophyllum and Proserpinaca. The family is closely related to the Onagraceae, but differs in having but 1 ovule in each cell of the ovary. The aquatic forms are Utricularia-like and floating, with slender stems and either finely pectinate leaves with filiform divisions (Myriophyllum) or linear and entire leaves (Hippuris). Gunnera of South America has broad kidney-shaped leaves varying from small to gigantically large. The leaves of this genus in Costa Rica are said to be so large as to give shelter to three men on horseback. The fruits of Gunnera macrophylla are used as a stimulant in Java. The giant leaves, six feet broad, of Gunnera chilensis are used in Chile for tanning skins. Two species of Gunnera are almost, or quite, hardy in the mid-eastern United States, and are grown for luxuriant lawn foliage. Several species of the aquatic Myriophyllum are in cultivation, one of which is parrot’s feather (M. proserpinacoides). CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

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