Salviniaceae

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Salviniaceae >



Read about Salviniaceae in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Salviniaceae (from the genus Salvinia in honor of A. M. Salvini, Italian scientist). Salvinia Family. Fig. 3. Small, floating aquatic plants, resembling large Lemnas (Salvinia) or foliaceous liverworts (Azolla): stem reduced or wanting: leaves few, orbicular or oval (Salvinia); or numerous, minute and imbricated (Azolla) : sporangia and spores of two sorts as in Marsilea, but borne on basal columns in the single cavity of the sporocarp; at first both sorts of sporangia are present but only one kind matures so that the sporocarp becomes entirely "male" or entirely "female:" prothallium partly endosporous, only a portion of either the male or female prothallium emerging from the spore wall.

The family has 2 genera and about 15 species, of which 11 belong to Salvinia; generally distributed but principally tropical. Each genus is represented in the eastern United States by one native species. The family is related to the Marsileaceae, but the habit, the structure of the sporocarps, and the separation of macrosporangia and microsporangia in different sporocarps are distinctive.

The "roots" of Salvinia represent a modified leaf. Each leaf of Azolla is two-lobed, one lobe floating, the other submerged. A small cavity inclosed by the upper lobe is always inhabited by a nostoc-like alga, between which and the Azolla there is indication of a symbiotic relationship. Azolla possesses true roots.

The family is of almost no economic importance.

One species of Salvinia and two species of Azolla are occasionally grown in water-gardens.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 It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article.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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