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Hymenachne amplexicaulis
Also called Olive Hymenachne
Hymenachne amplexicaulis, also known as West Indian marsh grass in the US, Olive hymenachne in Australia, and hereafter referred to as hymenachne, is New World species in the genus Hymenachne. Hymenachne is from the Greek hymen meaning "membrane" and achne meaning "chaff, glume, scale" and amplexicaulis is from Latin, literally "embracing the stem" or "stem-clasping. This freshwater species is native to the tropical and subtropical regions of the West Indies, Northern South America, and Central America.
Hymenachne prefers constantly inundated soil and is known to survive comfortably in about a meter of water for 20 years. This species was shown to survive poorly in Australia where flooding exceeded 1.2 m. In its native range in Venezuela, and in invaded areas of Florida, hymenachne was documented to survive in >1.2m of water for nearly a year. Hymenachne has also been found in water greater than 4m deep persisting in floating mats, likely dislodged after a storm event. Conversely, hymenachne is not recorded to survive sites that entirely desiccate.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Hymenachne amplexicaulis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
