E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Callitriche marginata Torr.
winged water-starwort
Plantaginaceae (Mare's-tail family)
(Previously in Callitrichaceae)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Callitriche marginata
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Aquatic or semi-aquatic perennial rooting in mud; stems matted, very slender, 5-10 cm long, leaf-bases joined by a tiny, winged ridge.

Leaves:
All opposite; submerged leaves linear, single-nerved, very slightly notched terminally; emergent leaves wider, incompletely 3-nerved.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of tiny, inconspicuous flowers borne without bracts or with tiny, brown, linear bracts; female flowers with distinct stalks, much longer than the fruits; styles sharply reflexed.

Fruits:
Achene-like, 4, each 1-seeded, conspicuously wing-margined, oval, irregularly pitted in a fine network.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Vernal pools in the lowland zone; rare, known only from S Vancouver Island and Mittlenatch Island; S to CA and MX.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Similar Species

There are five Callitriche species in southern B.C. that may be confused with C. marginata: C. anceps, C. hermatophroditica, C. heterophylla ssp. bolanderi, C. stagnalis, and C. verna. The five species are very similar morphologically, but only C. marginata produces female flowers with distinct stalks that are longer than the fruit; styles are also sharply reflexed (Douglas et al. 1998b; M. Miller, pers. comm. 2008).

Source: British Columbia Conservation Data Centre

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S3S4	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Callitriche longipedunculata Morong

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-06-17 9:51:48 AM ]

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