Neptunia oleracea
Content
Description
Perennial, aquatic, floating herb, rooting at the nodes, or suberect rooted herb of damp sites.
Leaves:
Stipules (usually not evident in floating specimens) membranous, lanceolate, base obliquely cordate, apex acuminate, 5.5-15 by 3-5 mm, glabrous.
Inflorescence:
Seeds 4-8 per pod, obovoid, compressed, 4-5.1 by 2.7-3.5 mm.
Distribution
Asia-Tropical: Borneo present; Jawa (Jawa present); Malaya present; Maluku (Maluku present); Philippines (Philippines present); Sulawesi (Sulawesi present); Sumatera (Sumatera present), Burn present, Mindanao present, tropics of both hemispheres present
Tropics of both hemispheres, origin uncertain; in Malesia collected in Malaya, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Celebes, Philippines (Mindanao), Moluccas (Burn). Cultivated.
Notes
The names natans and prostrata are both older than oleracea, but as they are dubious and invalid, respectively, they have been discarded.
Backer & Bakhuizen f. [] followed Druce (l.c.), who named this species Neptunia natans, with as type specimen Koenig s.n. in Herb. Linn., no 1228/4, a terrestrial plant with roots, the spikes globular and the stipules small, less than 4 mm. The pod is not bent at a right angle to the stipe and not longer than the persistent calyx. For further details see Kostermans (l.c.).
Backer & Bakhuizen f. [] followed Druce (l.c.), who named this species Neptunia natans, with as type specimen Koenig s.n. in Herb. Linn., no 1228/4, a terrestrial plant with roots, the spikes globular and the stipules small, less than 4 mm. The pod is not bent at a right angle to the stipe and not longer than the persistent calyx. For further details see Kostermans (l.c.).
Citation
Lour. 1985 – In: Fl. Thailand: 146
Nielsen 1981: p. 27. – In: Fl. Camb. Laos Vietnam: pl. 4: 4-13
Kosterm. 1979 – In: Ceyl. J. Sci., Biol. Sci.: 257
Backer & Bakh. f. 1968 – In: Fl. Java: 650
W. & A. 1834 – In: Prod.: 270
Windler 1966 – In: Austral. J. Bot.: 401
Backer & Bakh. f. 1963 – In: Fl. Java: 562