Pontederiaceae

Taxobox
name = Pontederiaceae


image_caption = "Eichhornia crassipes"
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Monocots
unranked_ordo = Commelinids
ordo = Commelinales
familia = Pontederiaceae
familia_authority = Kunth
subdivision_ranks = genera
subdivision = see text

Pontederiaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants.

The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system, of 1998) places the family in the order Commelinales, in the commelinid clade, in the monocots. It is a small family of heterostylous aquatic plants, occurring in tropical and subtropical waters. Charles Darwin was interested in the specialized form of heterostyly found in the family, known as tristyly. Not all of the species are heterostylous. The family probably contains fewer than three dozen species.

It is best known for the water hyacinth ("Eichhornia crassipes"), which is an invasive species in many waterways. The highly modified "Hydrothrix gardneri" is a submerged aquatic with a two-flowered pseudanthium.

Taxonomy

There are 9 genera within this family as below.
*"Eichhornia"
*"Eurystemon"
*"Heteranthera"
*"Hydrothrix"
*"Monochoria"
*"Pontederia"
*"Reussia"
*"Scholleropsis"
*"Zosterella"

External links

* [http://delta-intkey.com/angio/www/ponteder.htm Pontederiaceae] in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards).
*" [http://delta-intkey.com/angio/ The families of flowering plants] : descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval." Version: 9th March 2006. http://delta-intkey.com.
* [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=10722 Pontederiaceae in the "Flora of North America"]
* [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=10722 Pontederiaceae in the "Flora of China"]
* [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Tree&id=16367&lvl=3&lin=f&keep=1&srchmode=1&unlock NCBI Taxonomy Browser]
* [http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/cgi/gateway_family?fam=Pontederiaceae links at CSDL]