Copy permalink to share
Araliaceae
Hydrocotyle

not marked as a favorite taxon Hydrocotyle umbellata Linnaeus. Common name: Marsh Water-pennywort. Phenology: Apr-Oct. Habitat: Moist areas, including maritime grasslands. Distribution: New Brunswick; near the Great Lakes in w. New York, ne. Ohio, s. Michigan, n. Indiana, and ne. Illinois; Massachusetts to s. Florida, west to sc. Texas, south through Mexico to Central America and South America; California south into Mexico; West Indies. Reported as a likely introduction for s. Missouri (Aaron 2024).

Glossary (beta!)

ID notes: Hydrocotyle umbellata can co-occur in maritime situations with H. bonariensis, which has larger leaves the blade generally held at a right angle to the ground's surface.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Synonymy ⓘ: = Ar, Bah, C, Can, Chap, F, Fl7, FNA13, G, GW2, Il, K1, K4, MC, Meso4.1, Mex, Mi, NcTx, NE, NS, NY, Ok, Pa, POWO, RAB, S, S13, Tat, Tn, Tx, Va, WH3, Tippery et al (2026); < Hydrocotyle umbellata L. — NE. Basionym: Hydrocotyle umbellata L. 1753

Links to other floras: = Hydrocotyle umbellata - FNA13

Show in key(s)

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 ⓘ: 6

Your browser does not support SVGs

Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend.

image #1 of Hydrocotyle umbellata© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
image #2 of Hydrocotyle umbellata© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
image #3 of Hydrocotyle umbellata© Richard & Teresa Ware CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
image #6 of Hydrocotyle umbellata© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
image #7 of Hydrocotyle umbellata© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
image #8 of Hydrocotyle umbellata© Alan Cressler: Hydrocotyle umbellata, Lake Wales Ridge, Lake Wales Ridge Wildlife and Environmental Area, Highlands County, Florida 1 by Alan Cressler source | Original Image ⭷

Feedback

See something missing or incorrect about Hydrocotyle umbellata? Let us know here:
  1. Please include your name and if possible, email in case when need to clarify what you wrote.
  2. If you opt out of including email, please be as specific as possible (e.g., which photo is incorrect?)
  3. Please do not submit questions asking to identify plants or about horticultural topics (e.g., how do I control an invasive plant in my garden?). Instead, those questions can be submitted here for the Carolinas region only.
  4. Please do not send us feedback about unkeyed species as this work is ongoing.
  5. Please allow time for flora edits to show in our next data release. We greatly appreciate your feedback but may require extra time to research complicated taxonomic issues.

Horticultural Information

NCBG trait

Intro: Floating-creeping, aquatic perennial of marshes, shores of rivers or lakes and other moist areas.

Stems: Stems fleshy, branching, smooth.

Leaves: Leaves alternate, on long petioles attached near the center of the blade, round to kidney-shaped, notched at base, scalloped-edged, shiny and smooth.

Inforescence:

Flowers: Flowers in erect, stalked umbels of 10-35+ arising separately from leaves and sometimes over-topping them; white; 1/8 in. wide; consisting of 5 spreading petals, insignificant sepals and 5 stamens.

Fruits:

Comments:

Height: 3-8 in.

plant sale text:

bloom table text:

description: Floating-creeping, aquatic perennial of marshes, shores of rivers or lakes and other moist areas.

stems: Stems fleshy, branching, smooth.

leaves: Leaves alternate, on long petioles attached near the center of the blade, round to kidney-shaped, notched at base, scalloped-edged, shiny and smooth.

inflorescence:

flowers: Flowers in erect, stalked umbels of 10-35+ arising separately from leaves and sometimes over-topping them; white; 1/8 in. wide; consisting of 5 spreading petals, insignificant sepals and 5 stamens.

fruits:

comments:

cultural notes:

germination code:

native range:



« show previous | back to original search ↑