TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL	previous taxon | next taxon Jepson Interchange (more information)
	©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California Print edition is available from the University of California Press

	The second edition of The Jepson Manual (2012) is available from the University of California Press
	See also the Jepson eFlora, which parallels the Second Edition

APIACEAE

CARROT FAMILY

Lincoln Constance

Annual, biennial, perennial herb (rarely shrub, tree), often from taproot
Stem often ± scapose, generally ribbed, hollow
Leaves basal and generally some cauline, generally alternate; stipules generally 0; petiole base generally sheathing stem; blade generally much dissected, sometimes compound
Inflorescence: umbel or head, simple or compound, generally peduncled; bracts present (in involucres) or not; bractlets generally present (in involucels)
Flowers many, small, generally bisexual (or some staminate), generally radial (or outer bilateral); calyx 0 or lobes 5, small, atop ovary; petals 5, free, generally ovate or spoon-shaped, generally incurved at tips, generally ± ephemeral; stamens 5; pistil 1, ovary inferior, 2-chambered, generally with a ± conic, persistent projection or platform on top subtending 2 free styles
Fruit: 2 dry, 1-seeded halves that separate from each other but generally remain attached for some time to a central axis; ribs on each half 5, 2 marginal and 3 on back; oil tubes 1–several per interval between ribs
Genera in family: 300 genera, 3,000 species: ± worldwide, especially temp; many cultivated for food or spice (e.g., Carum, caraway; Daucus; Petroselinum); some highly toxic (e.g., Conium). Underground structures here called roots, but true nature remains problematic. Mature fruit generally critical in identification; shapes generally given in outline, followed by shape in X -section of 2 fruit halves together.

HYDROCOTYLE

Perennial, creeping or sprawling, glabrous or hairy; rhizomes or stem rooting at nodes
Leaves simple; petiole scarious-stipuled, not sheathing; blade ± round, peltate or not, entire to deeply lobed
Inflorescence: umbels simple, open or dense; bracts 0 or inconspicuous; pedicels 0–many, spreading
Flower: calyx lobes 0 or minute; petals obtuse or acute, greenish or yellowish white to purplish, tip not incurved
Fruit elliptic to round, very compressed side-to-side; ribs subequal, thread-like, distinct or not; oil tubes 0 (but individual oil cells in fruit wall); fruit central axis not an obvious structure
Seed: face flat to convex
Species in genus: ± 100 species: worldwide, especially s hemisphere
Etymology: (Greek: water cup, apparently from leaf shape)

Native

H. ranunculoides L.f.

Plant fleshy, floating or creeping, glabrous
Leaf: petiole 5–35 cm, stout; blade generally 2–5 cm wide, round-reniform, often wider than long, deeply 3–7-lobed, entire to minutely crenate
Inflorescence: umbels dense, 5–10-flowered; peduncles 1–5 cm; pedicels short
Fruit 1–3 mm, elliptic to round; ribs obscure
Chromosomes: 2n=48
Ecology: Lake margins, pools, etc.
Elevation: 10–1500 m.
Bioregional distribution: Sporadic in California Floristic Province
Distribution outside California: to e N.America, S.America
Horticultural information: WET: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24; INV.