Mesanthemum

Scientific name

Mesanthemum Körn.

Family

Eriocaulaceae

Similar genera

Eriocaulon, Lachnanthes, Lachnocaulon, Xyris

Native distribution

tropical Africa and Madagascar; concentrated especially in West Africa and from S. Zaire to N. Zambia

Species cultivated

Mesanthemum sp. 'Africa'

Adventive distribution

information not available

Weed status

information not available

Habit

terrestrial, emergentemergent:
(adj) (syn. emersed) with parts raised out of the water; extending up out of the water
, seasonally submergedsubmerged:
(adj) (syn. submersed) under water; submerged below the water surface
, or submergedsubmerged:
(adj) (syn. submersed) under water; submerged below the water surface
herb

Brief description

Small rosetterosette:
(n) a radiating cluster of leaves, usually close to the ground at the base of a plant
. Rhizomatousrhizomatous:
(adj) possessing rhizomes
; stem compact. Leaves basalbasal:
(adj) at or pertaining to the base, or point of attachment
; leaf bladeblade:
(n) (syn. lamina) the flat, expanded part of a leaf, frond, or petal (excluding, e.g., the petiole)
linear, spongy; apexapex:
(n) the point farthest from the point of attachment; the tip (often pointed)
acuteacute:
(adj) tapering to a sharp, pointed apex with more or less straight sides; broader than acuminate; forming an angle of less than 90 degrees
; base sheathing; venationvenation:
(n) the arrangement of veins in a leaf
parallel; leaves and scapesscapes:
(n) a leafless flowering stalk arising from ground level in acaulescent plants
usually hairy. Inflorescenceinflorescence:
(n) the arrangement of flowers on the floral axis
an axillaryaxillary:
(adj) in, of, or produced from an axil
, globoseglobose:
(adj) spherical or nearly so
or flattened headhead:
(n) inflorescence consisting of small closely packed stalkless flowers or florets arising at the same level on a flattened axis; of several types, including: discoid (composed entirely of disk flowers) and radiate (composed of central disk flowers and marginal ray flowers)
, white-hairy; scapesscapes:
(n) a leafless flowering stalk arising from ground level in acaulescent plants
few, many-ribbed; involucral bracts in several series, overlapping, coriaceouscoriaceous:
(adj) thick, tough, leathery
; floral bracts filiformfiliform:
(adj) thread-like; long and thin
with expanded hairy tips. Male flowers: sepals 3, membranous, free or basally connateconnate:
(adj) of plant parts congenitally united into a single structure
; petals a fleshy tube, shallowly 3-lobed; stamens 6, anthers yellowish. Female flowers: sepals 3, free; petals 3, free at base; 3 linear brownish glands within tube; tube apexapex:
(n) the point farthest from the point of attachment; the tip (often pointed)
densely white-pilose; stigmasstigmas:
(n) the portion of the pistil that is receptive to pollen
3, simple.

Natural habitat

humid terrestrialterrestrial:
(adj) growing on land as opposed to living in water
to aquatic habitat; coastal acidic/siliceous sand, sandstone walls, mossy granitic hard-pan, boggy areas in grassland savannas, sphagnum bog, wet hollows, swamps, pools on ferruginous hard-pans in grassy savanna, lake margins, running waters

Additional comments

Mesanthemum contains 15 species. M. reductum H.E. Hess grows totally submergedsubmerged:
(adj) (syn. submersed) under water; submerged below the water surface
in swift-flowing water.