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Marsilea villosa
Also called 'ihi'ihi
Marsilea villosa, the ʻihiʻihi (Hawaiian) or villous waterclover (English), is a species of fern that is endemic to the islands of Oʻahu, Molokaʻi and Niʻihau in Hawaii. It is found exclusively in areas that experience periodic flooding and become ephemeral pools within low elevation dry forests and shrublands. Standing water allows the sporocarp to open and release spores. It also enables the resulting sperm to swim toward and fertilize female ova. For new plants to become established, the waters must subside. Sporocarps only form once the soil has dried to a certain level. Like other species in its genus, the leaves of M. villosa resemble those of a four-leaf clover.
This species is endemic to the islands of Hawai'i. Its unique characteristics restrict it to areas that experience periodic flooding and are low in elevation. This species was originally discovered on O'ahu and later reported to be found on Moloka’i and Ni’ihau. The only surviving populations are on O'ahu and Moloka’i. M. villosa was last observed on Ni'ihau in 1949.
Marsilea ancyclopoda · Nardoo · Nardoo · Rough waterclover · Dwarf waterclover · Australian Water Clover · European waterclover · Hairy waterclover · Waterclover
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Marsilea villosa 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.
