Samolus parviflorus Rafinesque. Water-pimpernel, Brookweed. Phen: Apr-Oct. Hab: Stream banks, tidal freshwater and oligohaline marshes, pools in floodplains, calcareous seepage swamps, interdune ponds. Dist: NB west to BC, south to Central America; c. and s. South America; Bahamas.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Taxonomy Comments: Sometimes treated as a subspecies or other component of the European S. valerandi; the American plant is sufficiently distinct to warrant specific status. Cholewa in FNA8 (2009) states: "Some taxonomists include this species within the European S. valerandi; that species has larger flowers and capsules, fewer racemes, and staminodes occurring in clusters of one to three. No specimens have been found of true European S. valerandi in the flora area; previous specimens labeled as S. valerandi are native species, usually S. parviflorus". A different opinion is expressed by Jones et al. (2012), who prefer to treat S. parviflorus within a broadly circumscribed S. valerandi. If treated at species rank (as here), the name S. floribundus has also sometimes been used for the North American taxon at species rank; S. parviflorus has nomenclatural priority over S. floribundus by a month.

Synonymy: = Ar, Bah, F, FNA8, GrPl, GW2, Il, K3, Mi, Pa, RAB, Tat, Tn, Tx, Va, W, WV; = Samolus floribundus Kunth – C, G, Meso4.1, Mex, S; = Samolus valerandi L. ssp. parviflorus (Raf.) Hultén – Fl5, K1, NcTx, NE, WH3; < Samolus valerandi L. – K4, NY

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: OBL (taxonomic lump from wetland indicator species)
• Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: OBL (taxonomic lump from wetland indicator species)
• Great Plains: OBL
• Midwest: OBL
• Northcentral & Northeast: OBL

Heliophily: 6