Cabomba caroliniana var. pulcherrima is a species of perennial aquatic herb in the family Cabombaceae native to the American states Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia.
Description Vegetative characteristics Cabomba caroliniana var. pulcherrima is a perennialU.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. (n.d.). Cabomba caroliniana A. Gray var. pulcherrima Harper. USDA Plants Database. Retrieved April 1, 2025, from https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/plant-profile/CACAP aquatic herbPellegrini, M. O. O. & Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. (n.d.-d). Cabomba caroliniana var. pulcherrima R.M.Harper. Flora E Funga Do Brasil. Retrieved April 1, 2025, from https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/FB582615 with reddish-purple, 1 m long stems. Both floating and submerged leaves are produced. The submerged leaves are dark-coloured and have narrow segments. The peltate floating leaves are 1.5–3 mm wide.Fassett, N. C. (1953). A Monograph of Cabomba. Castanea, 18(4), 116–128. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4031558
Generative characteristics The purple flowers are 7–10 mm long. The gynoecium consists of 3–4 carpels.
Cytology The chromosome count is 2n = c. 78.
Taxonomy It was described by Roland McMillan Harper in 1903.Harper, R. M. (1903). Botanical explorations in Georgia during the summer of 1901.-II. Noteworthy species. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 30(6), 319-342.Cabomba caroliniana var. pulcherrima R.M.Harper. (n.d.). Plants of the World Online. Retrieved April 1, 2025, from https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:273583-2 The type specimen was collected by Harper in Georgia, USA on the 13th of August 1901.Cabomba caroliniana var. pulcherrima R.M.Harper. (n.d.-c). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved April 2, 2025, from https://www.ipni.org/n/273583-2 It was elevated to the species Cabomba pulcherrima by Norman Carter Fassett in 1953,Cabomba pulcherrima (R.M.Harper) Fassett. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved April 2, 2025, from https://www.ipni.org/n/39042-2 but this is widely not accepted. One source regards it as a synonym of Cabomba caroliniana var. caroliniana,USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL: https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=416941. Accessed 1 April 2025. others regard it as a synonym of Cabomba caroliniana,Keener, B.R., A.R. Diamond, T.W. Barger, L.J. Davenport, P.G. Davison, S.L. Ginzbarg, C.J. Hansen, D.D. Spaulding, J.K. Triplett, and M. Woods. 2025. Alabama Plant Atlas. [S.M. Landry and K.N. Campbell (original application development), Florida Center for Community Design and Research. University of South Florida]. University of West Alabama, Livingston, Alabama. Cabomba caroliniana. (n.d.-b). Atlas of Florida Plants. Retrieved April 1, 2025, from https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant/species/3849#synonymsWeakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2025. Flora of the southeastern United States Web App. University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, U.S.A. https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/cust/20222/main.php?pg=show-taxon-detail.php&lsid=urn:lsid:ncbg.unc.edu:taxon:{91C969BE-4DA5-476E-8A52-DFFB63C0D5BF}. Accessed Apr 1, 2025.Spaulding, D.D., T.W. Barger, and H.E. Horne. 2018. Flora of northern Alabama, part 3. Primitive Angiosperms. Phytoneuron 2018-11: 1–120. Published 26 February 2018. ISSN 2153-733XCabomba caroliniana in Flora of North America @ efloras.org. (n.d.-b). Retrieved April 1, 2025, from http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500297Cabomba caroliniana. (n.d.). Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN). Retrieved April 1, 2025, from https://data.canadensys.net/vascan/name/Cabomba%20caroliniana and some accepted the variety as a separate taxon.Cabomba caroliniana var. pulcherrima R.M.Harper. (2012, March 23). The Plant List. Retrieved April 1, 2025, from http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-28286World Flora Online. (n.d.). Cabomba caroliniana var. pulcherrima R.M.Harper. WFO Plant List. Retrieved April 1, 2025, from https://wfoplantlist.org/taxon/wfo-0000705466-2024-12?page=1Cabomba caroliniana var. pulcherrima R.M.Harper. (n.d.-b). GBIF | Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved April 1, 2025, from https://www.gbif.org/species/3986530 Its validity needs further investigation and it has been speculated the purple colouration may be a result of environmental conditions,Larson, J. L. Cao, L. Berent, and S. Iott, 2025, Cabomba caroliniana A. Gray: U.S. Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL, and NOAA Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System, Ann Arbor, MI, https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/greatlakes/FactSheet.aspx?Species_ID=231, Revision Date: 8/8/2024, Access Date: 4/1/2025 such as warm water conditions. The colour also is diminished in low light conditions.Ørgaard, M. (1991). The genus Cabomba (Cabombaceae)–a taxonomic study. Nordic Journal of Botany, 11(2), 179-203.
Etymology The varietal name pulcherrima from the Latin pulcher means most beautiful.Caesalpinia pulcherrima (L.) Sw. (n.d.). Auroville Virtual Herbarium. Retrieved April 2, 2025, from https://aurovilleherbarium.org/contents/nomenclature.php?id=10
Distribution and habitat It occurs in the American states Florida, South and North Carolina, and Georgia, where it occurs at low altitudes.
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