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Species profile—Aponogeton lancesmithii

Classification

Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → AponogetonaceaeAponogeton lancesmithii

Species details

Kingdom
Plantae (plants)
Class
Equisetopsida (land plants)
Family
Aponogetonaceae
Scientific name
Aponogeton lancesmithii Hellq. & S.W.L.Jacobs
WildNet taxon ID
21901
Alternate name(s)
Lance Smith's lace plant
Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
Endangered
Conservation significant
Yes
Confidential
Yes
Wetland status
Wetland Indicator Species
Endemicity
Native
Pest status
Nil
Description
Aponogeton lancesmithii is a rooted, submerged, perennial aquatic plant. The leaves are submersed and have linear to lance-shaped blades, 10-48cm long by 0.9-4cm wide. They are green to dark green in colour, with margins slightly undulate and stems up to 36cm long. The flower stalks are up to 74cm long and 1.2-1.8mm wide at the base, broadening to 4.2-6.8mm at the base of the flower head.
The flower heads are yellow and are often floating on the surface with the tip emerged. They are about 34cm long and sparsely to tightly flowered, with flowers borne evenly around the spike. The individual yellow flowers are 1.5-1.7mm long and 0.8-1.3mm wide. The fruits are 3-3.9mm long and 2.7-3.5mm wide, with a somewhat straight or bent beak at the tip. There are 3-8 seeds per fruit. The seeds have a loose coat with longitudinal folds, and are 2.1-3.2mm long by 0.6-1.0mm wide.
Unlike A. bullosus, which produces fairly short flower stalks and mostly submerged flowers, A. lancesmithii produces very long flower heads on inflated stalks that are longer than any other species in Australia. The inflorescences are usually emergent and the leaves often have blister-like swellings on the surface. The seeds of A. lancesmithii are similar to those of A. queenslandicus, A. vanbruggenii, and A. euryspermus. A. lancesmithii seeds have a double coating and a loose outer coat but they are generally smaller than the seeds of A. vanbruggenii and A. macrospermus. (Hellquist 1998)
Habitat
Aponogeton lancesmithii grows in slow to fast flowing rivers and streams. (Hellquist 1998)
Reproduction
Aponogeton lancesmithii flowers and fruits from July to November. (Hellquist 1998)
Notes
Contributors: Kathy Stephens, Mellisa Mayhew 27/01/2009
References
Hellquist, C.B. & Jacobs, S.W.L. (1998). Aponogetonaceae of Australia, with descriptions of six new taxa. Telopea, vol. 8(1), p. 12.
Herbrecs (2008). Aponogeton lancesmithii, in BriMapper version 2.12. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 23/09/2008.
Profile author
Kathy Stephens (27/01/2009)

Other resources

Data source

This profile data is sourced from the QLD Wildlife Data API using the Get species by ID function used under CC-By 4.0.
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species/?op=getspeciesbyid&taxonid=21901.

This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.

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Licence
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Last updated
20 May 2024