Helanthium tenellum (Martius ex Schultes f.) Britton. Common name: Mud-babies, Dwarf-burhead. Phenology: Aug-Sep. Habitat: On drawdown zones of Coastal Plain ponds, pineland ponds, pondcypress savannas in clay-based Carolina bays, blackwater riverbanks, or ponds in the Mountains with Coastal Plain affinities (Augusta County, VA); also apparently adventive on drawdown zones of artificial impoundments (Lake Chatuge, sw. NC and n. GA). Distribution: MA west to MI and KS, south to c. peninsular FL and s. TX, but widely scattered and disjunct in that range; also Mexico (CHP, GRO, VER), Central America, South America; West Indies. See Belden et al. (2004) for a discussion of the species in Virginia.
Origin/Endemic status: Native
Synonymy ⓘ: = K4, NE, NY, POWO, Lehtonen & Myllys (2008); = Echinodorus tenellus (Mart. ex Schult.f.) Buchenau — AqW, ETx1, F, FNA22, Il, Meso6, Mi, NS, Va, WH3; = Echinodorus tenellus (Mart. ex Schult.f.) Buchenau var. tenellus; = n/a — RAB; > Echinodorus parvulus Engelm. — G, GrPl, GW1, Tx; > Echinodorus tenellus (Mart. ex Schult.f.) Buchenau var. parvulus (Engelm.) Fassett — C, Mo1; > Helanthium parvulum (Engelm.) Britton — S, Tat; > Helianthium parvulum (Engelm.) Small — S13; Alisma tenellum Mart. ex Schult.f. Basionym: Alisma tenellum Mart. ex Schult.f. 1830
Links to other floras: = Echinodorus tenellus - FNA22
Show parent genus | Show parent in key(s)
Wetland Indicator Status:
- Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: OBL
- Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: OBL
- Great Plains: OBL
- Midwest: OBL
- Northcentral & Northeast: OBL
Heliophily ⓘ: 9
Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend.





Feedback
See something wrong or missing on about Helanthium tenellum? Let us know here: (Please include your name and email if at all complicated so we can clarify if needed.) We greatly appreciate feedback, and will include updates from you in our next webapp update, which can take a few months. If a species is not keyed, that's because keying is ongoing. Please don't send us feedback about unkeyed species.
Horticultural Information
No horticultural data found for this taxon.