Monilophytes (ferns): Leptosporangiate Ferns (true ferns): Salviniales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Marsilea quadrifolia
FAMILY
Marsileaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read about Water Shamrock at the Connecticut Botanical Society's website.
Learn more about Marsilea from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Marsilea quadrifolia is sold in garden stores as an aquatic to be grown in water gardens, and likely to be encountered more widely in the future, per Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Marsilea quadrifolia
FAMILY
Marsileaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Marsilea quadrifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Marsilea quadrifolia
COMMON NAME:
European Waterclover, European Pepperwort, European Water Shamrock
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_maqu_001_lvd
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Marsilea quadrifolia
FAMILY
Marsileaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Marsilea quadrifolia
FAMILY
Marsileaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Marsilea quadrifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Marsilea quadrifolia
3839
Fern/Fern ally; Emergent aquatic (rooted)
Perennial
Habitat: Shallow water of artificial impoundments, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Europe & Asia
Rare or waif(s)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
- Forest Health Assessment & Applied Sciences Team: New Invaders of the Southeast
LEAVES:
Leaves deciduous in temperate regions
Each leaf (frond) palmately divided into 4 leaflets, resembling a 4-leaf clover
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".