Trithuria konkanensis is a species of aquatic plant in the family Hydatellaceae endemic to India.
Description Vegetative characteristics It is an annual, green to red, aquatic, 1.3 cm tall herb with numerous linear, erect or spread out, 12 mm long, and 0.8 mm wide leaves produced on reduced stems. The roots are fibrous and unbranched.Yadav, S. R., & Janarthanam, M. K. (1995). Trithuria konkanensis (Hydatellaceae), eine neue Art aus Indien. Generative characteristics It is a monoecious species with numerous, bisexual reproductive units. The reproductive units consist of up to 2 mm long peduncles, two linear, 5 mm long, and 0.6 mm wide bracts, as well as 15-20 carpels, which surround the single, red, central stamen.Yadav, S. R., & Janarthanam, M. K. (1994). Hydatellaceae: a new family to Indian flora with a new species. The pollen grains are 16.1–21.1 μm long, and 14.6–18.1 μm wide. It can self-pollinate,Iles, W. J., Rudall, P. J., Sokoloff, D. D., Remizowa, M. V., Macfarlane, T. D., Logacheva, M. D., & Graham, S. W. (2012). Molecular phylogenetics of Hydatellaceae (Nymphaeales): Sexual-system homoplasy and a new sectional classification. American Journal of Botany, 99(4), 663-676. but cross-pollination could possibly also occur. Flowering and fruiting occurs from August to September.Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. https://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Trithuria%20konkanensis Downloaded on 8 November 2024.
Cytology It is a tetraploid species with a chromosome count of 2n = 40.Remizowa, M. V., Sokoloff, D. D., Macfarlane, T. D., Yadav, S. R., Prychid, C. J., & Rudall, P. J. (2008). Comparative pollen morphology in the early-divergent angiosperm family Hydatellaceae reveals variation at the infraspecific level. Grana, 47(2), 81-100.
Distribution It is endemic to India. This is unusual for its genus, as it is the only species occurring outside of Australia and New Zealand.Sokoloff, D. D., Remizowa, M. V., Yadav, S. R., & Rudall, P. J. (2010). Development of reproductive structures in the sole Indian species of Hydatellaceae, Trithuria konkanensis, and its morphological differences from Australian taxa. Australian Systematic Botany, 23(4), 217-228.
Taxonomy It was described by Shrirang Ramchandra Yadav and Malapati Kuppuswamy Janarthanam in 1994. The type specimen was collected by S. R. Yadav and M. K. Janarthanam in Maharashtra, India on the 20th of September 1993. It is placed in Trithuria sect. Hamannia.Sokoloff, D. D., Remizowa, M. V., Beer, A. S., Yadav, S. R., Macfarlane, T. D., Ramsay, M. M., & Rudall, P. J. (2013). Impact of spatial constraints during seed germination on the evolution of angiosperm cotyledons: A case study from tropical hydatellaceae (Nymphaeales). American Journal of Botany, 100(5), 824–843. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23434582
Etymology The specific epithet konkanensis references the Konkan region, from which the type specimen was collected.
Ecology Its habitat consists of ephemeral bodies of water. The substrate is sand and gravel. It occurs sympatrically with Utricularia, Cyperus, Dimeria, and Eriocaulon. The temperature in its habitat ranges from 18 to 35 °C.
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