Stratiotes

2024-06-28T11:17:15Z

2A02:3033:60A:A4C7:C687:3F81:F591:34D8:

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the family Hydrocharitaceae}}
{{Other uses|Stratioti|Stratiotes (beetle)}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Water soldier
|image = Illustration Stratiotes aloides0.jpg
|image_caption = ''[[Stratiotes aloides]]''<ref>1885 illustration of ''Stratoides aloides'', water soldier from Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomas, Flora von Deutschland Österreich und der Schweiz. 1885, Gera, Germany</ref>
|display_parents = 2
|grandparent_authority = Luersson
|genus = Stratiotes
|parent_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
|species = aloides
|authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
|synonyms_ref = <ref name=v/>
|synonyms =
*''Stratiotes aquaticus'' Pall.
*''Stratiotes ensiformis'' Gilib.
*''Stratiotes aculeatus'' Stokes
*''Stratiotes generalis'' E.H.L.Krause
}}

'''''Stratiotes''''' is a [[genus]] of submerged [[aquatic plant]] commonly known as '''water soldiers''',<ref>{{PLANTS|id=STRAT|taxon=Stratiotes|accessdate=3 December 2015}}</ref> described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753.<ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358554#page/547/mode/1up Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 535] in Latin</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40006710|title=Tropicos {{!}} Name – Stratiotes L.|website=www.tropicos.org|access-date=2017-02-01}}</ref> Several specific names have been coined within the genus, but at present only one is recognized: ''[[Stratiotes aloides]]''. native to Europe and NW Asia.<ref name="v">{{Cite web|url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=308859|title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|website=apps.kew.org|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-02-01}}</ref>

;formerly included in genus
moved to other genera: ''[[Enhalus]] [[Hydrocleys]] [[Ottelia]]''
# ''Stratiotes acoroides - [[Enhalus acoroides]]''
# ''Stratiotes alismoides - [[Ottelia alismoides]]''
# ''Stratiotes nymphoides - [[Hydrocleys nymphoides]]''
# ''Stratiotes quinquealatus - [[Ottelia alismoides]]''

==Description==

The leaves are [[serration|serrate]] and very brittle, breaking easily when handled. Reproduction is generally by offsets, which may number five or more per plant. In the [[United Kingdom|UK]], male plants have rarely if ever been recorded, although some [[hermaphrodite]] flowers have been recorded from more southerly locations. Sexual reproduction is not known to occur. A characteristic of the genus is the habit of the plants rising to the surface at flowering time.
[[Image:Water soldier flower.JPG|thumb|left|''Stratiotes aloides'' flower]]

==Ecology==

The plant appears to be associated with calcareous waters and there is a suggestion that changing levels of [[calcium carbonate]] on the leaves may explain the floating and submerging behaviour.

[[Image:Water soldier plants.JPG|thumb|left|''Stratiotes aloides'' plants]]

The rare [[dragonfly]], the [[Norfolk hawker]] (''Aeshna isosceles''), relies on the presence of ''Stratiotes aloides'' as a food source for the smaller [[insect]]s on which it feeds.
The plant is very winter hardy.

==Fossil record==
Several [[fossil]] seeds of †''Stratiotes kaltennordheimensis'' have been extracted from [[borehole]] samples of the [[Middle Miocene]] fresh water deposits in [[Nowy Sacz]] Basin, [[West Carpathians]], [[Poland]].<ref>Łańcucka-Środoniowa M.: Macroscopic plant remains from the freshwater Miocene of the Nowy Sącz Basin (West Carpathians, Poland) [Szczątki makroskopowe roślin z miocenu słodkowodnego Kotliny Sądeckiej (Karpaty Zachodnie, Polska)]. Acta Palaeobotanica 1979 20 (1): 3-117.</ref>

==Uses==

''Stratiotes aloides'' is commonly used in cool water [[ponds]] and [[aquariums]] in [[Europe]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100925102555/http://www.invadingspecies.com/Invaders.cfm?A=Page&PID=43 Invading Species.com] Partnership between the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters

{{Taxonbar|from=Q164167}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hydrocharitaceae]]
[[Category:Hydrocharitaceae genera]]
[[Category:Aquatic plants]]
[[Category:Monotypic Alismatales genera]]
[[Category:Dioecious plants]]

{{alismatales-stub}}

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Stratiotes