Ottelia alismoides (L.) Pers., Hydrocharitaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Stratiotes alismoides L.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: long she cao

English: duck lettuce, water plantain ottelia

Habit:  aquatic herb

Description: 

Genus:  "Attached, submerged or emergent freshwater herbs.  Leaves radical, petiole base sheathing.  Spathe with prominent ribs or wings, peduncled, 1-flowered; flowers bisexual in Australian species, sessile within spathe, conspicuous in Australian species; sepals 3, persistent; petals 3, longer than sepals; stamens 6-15, 6-12 in Australian species; styles 6-15, 6-9 in Australian species, bifid.  Fruits with thickened pericarp."

Key to Australian species:

Otellia alismoides:  Leaf blades submerged, broadly ovate to suborbicular, thin and translucent; spathe with 5-10 conspicuous longitudinal wings, sometimes wings reduced to ribs.
Otellia ovalifolia:  Leaf blades floating on water surface, elliptic to ovate, thick and opaque; spathe ribbed but without wings.

Species:  "Leaves submerged, sometimes partly emergent in shallow water; petioles 3-sided, 8-50 cm long; blades thin, translucent, broadly ovate to suborbicular, 7-22 cm x 4.5-21 cm.  Spathes 2.5-6 cm long with 5-10 longitudinal wings; sepals 1-1.5 cm long; petals white with yellow-spotted base, 2-3 cm long.  Fruits enclosed in spathe; seeds glabrous"  (Stanley & Ross, 1989; vol. 3, p. 10).

Habitat/ecology:  In Australia, "in slow moving streams and stagnant pools up to 1.5 m deep, on a muddy bottom" (Stanley & Ross, 1989; vol. 3, p. 10).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Africa, India, southwest Pacific (Hickman, 1993; p. 1151).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 67)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 95)

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	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 67)
China China	China (People's Republic of)		Hafliger, E. (1092) (p. 93)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 258)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 67)
South Korea South Korea	South Korea (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 258)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 67)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 65) Cultivated only
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 258)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 67)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 67)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Ottelia alismoides is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Ottelia alismoides as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Ottelia alismoides may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Hafliger, E. 1092. Monocot Weeds 3. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 132 pp. plus plates.

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Hickman, J. C. 1993. The Jepson manual: higher plants of California. U. Cal. Press, Berkeley. 1400 pp.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Stanley, T. D./Ross, E. M. 1989. Flora of south-eastern Queensland. Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Misc. Pub. 81020. 3 Volumes.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Waterhouse, D. F. 1993. The major arthropod pests and weeds of agriculture in Southeast Asia. The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra. 141 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).