NEWS106
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Habitusof theplant.
The respiratory roots inLudwigiaadscendensaren’tquiteasnumerousas in
L.helminthorrhiza
,but areneverthelessvery striking.
Whatspecies?
Noneofthe fairlynumerouspublicationson
L.
helminthorrhiza
mentioned thisplanthaving
becomenaturalized inAsia.But the literature
onAsianplants – especially that on ricefield
weeds–rapidlybroughtustothespecies
Lud-
wigiaadscendens
.Inadditionnumerouspictu-
reson the Internet showed“our”plant, com-
pletewiththewhiteflowersaswellastheroots
adaptedforrespiration.
Ludwigiaadscendens
Naples&Kessler(2005) listthree
Ludwigia
spe-
ciesasricefieldweedsinLaosandCambodia:
L.
adscendens,L.hyssopifolia
,and
L.octovalvis
.They
caneasilybe toldapartby their flowers,as
L.
hyssopifolia
and
L.octovalvis
haveyellow flo-
werswithfourpetals,butbycontrast
L.adscen-
dens
haswhiteflowers,yellowatthebase,with
fivepetals.All three speciesarealso tobeex-
pected inThailand.
Ludwigiaadscendens
isnot
withoutdemerits,asitispoisonoustocattleand
cancauseinflammationofthegastro-intestinal
tract. On theotherhand
L.adscendens
isused
totreatnumerousailmentsinhumanmedicine
(accordingtoN
APLES
&K
ESSLER
,2005):aninfusion
Literatur:
Naples,M.L. & P.J.A. Kessler.Weeds of Rain
Fed LowlandRice Fields of Laos &Cambo-
dia.Illustrations,Identification,and Informa-
tionRetrieval.Version: 12 september 2005.
of the leaves is used against some sexually
transmitteddiseases,apastetotreatpimplesis
madefromit,itisusedagainstdiarrhoeaandas
a poultice for swellings and skindiseases, in
PapuaNewGuineatheplant isevenregarded
aspreventingpregnancy,andelsewhere the
youngshootsareeatenassalad.Fromanaqua-
riumviewpoint it is rather interesting tonote
thatantiseptichealingpropertiesareascribed
totheentiregenus
Ludwigia
.
Verydifficult intheaquarium
Unfortunately thisattractiveand interesting
(because of its respiratory roots) plant is
hardlyever cultivated in indoors,or at least
there isnomentionof it intherelevantaqua-
rium literature,although it is sometimes re-
commended for summer cultivation in a
sunnygardenpond.Anyoneable toobtain
thisplantshouldgive itatry,asthegorgeous
flowerswill reward theeffort.
