Damasonium

Scientific name

Damasonium Miller

Common names

starfruit

Family

Alismataceae

Similar genera

Echinodorus, Hydrocleys, Limnocharis, Ottelia, Potamogeton, Sagittaria

Native distribution

western North America, Australia, western Europe, Mediterranean

Species cultivated

Damasonium alisma Mill.

D. californicum Torr. ex. Benth.

D. minus (R.Br.) Buchenau

Adventive distribution

information not available

Weed status

Damasonium minus is a weed in rice fields.

Habit

juveniles submergedsubmerged:
(adj) (syn. submersed) under water; submerged below the water surface
, adults with floating to emergentemergent:
(adj) (syn. emersed) with parts raised out of the water; extending up out of the water
leaves

Brief description

Annual. Corm-like, compact stem. Leaves in a rosetterosette:
(n) a radiating cluster of leaves, usually close to the ground at the base of a plant
, mostly long-petiolate; leaf blades linear to ovateovate:
(adj) egg-shaped in outline; generally with the broad end at or near the base
or ellipticelliptic:
(adj) in the form of an ellipse (oval)
, with cuneatecuneate:
(adj) wedge-shaped; triangular, with narrow end at the base
or cordatecordate:
(adj) heart-shaped; in the form of two rounded lobes
bases. Inflorescenceinflorescence:
(n) the arrangement of flowers on the floral axis
paniculate, of one or more simple whorls, lower whorls sometimes compoundcompound:
(adj) with two or more like parts, as in a compound leaf; divided into two or more subsidiary parts or orders, as in a compound inflorescence
. Flowers actinomorphicactinomorphic:
(adj) of flowers, having radial symmetry; capable of being bisected into identifical halves along more than one axis
, bisexualbisexual:
(adj) having both male and female sexual reproductive structures on one individual or in one flower
; sepals 3, green; petals 3, white or pink with yellow center; carpels 6-10 in 1 whorlwhorl:
(n) three or more similar organs arranged in a circle at the same point around an axis
. Fruit (a follicle) sharply pointed. Dispersal by fruit or by seed in water or mud.

Natural habitat

still, shallow waters, e.g., rice fields