Marsilea crenata C.Presl, Marsileaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Habit:  aquatic fern

Description:  "Rhizome much-branched, scaly towards the tips. Fronds 1-20 cm long, solitary or clustered. Stipes glabrous or sparsely scaly. Leaflets broadly obovate to broadly cuneate, 10-25 mm long, 3-8 mm wide, glabrous or sparsely scaly; outer margin rounded, entire to deeply crenate. Sporocarps clustered; stalks 1-3 mm long, unbranched, glabrous to sparsely scaly; conceptacles 2-3 mm long, scaly, not ribbed; upper surface convex; upper basal tooth long and spine-like; lower basal tooth short, obtuse"  (Flora of Australia online).

Habitat/ecology:  Grows in shallow freshwater and in drying mud and is often found growing in rice paddies and, in Hawai‘i (O‘ahu), in taro patches  (Wilson, 2003; p. 5).

Propagation:  Spores or rhizomes

Native range:  Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia  (Wilson, 2003; p. 5).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wilson, Kenneth A. (2003) (pp. 5-6) Voucher cited: D. Palmer 2275 (BISH)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory	native	Australian Biological Resources Study (2013)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	Australian Biological Resources Study (2013)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Fujian
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Japan Japan	Japan	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Kyushu
Japan Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Taiwan Taiwan Island	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Marsilea crenata, please let us know.