Nomenclature

Species name:

Callitriche truncata   Guss.

Author(s):

Giovanni Gussone
   italy, 1787-1866

General names:

Southern Water Starwort, Short-leaves Water Starwort

Maltese name:

Erba Gamberaja

Plant Family:

Callitrichaceae   (Water Starwort Family)

Name Derivation:

Callitriche = From the Greek kalli (beautiful) and thrix (hair), referring to the beautiful thin stems (Greek);
truncata = Abruptly cut off, referring to the horizontal tips of the leaves. (Latin).

Synonyms:

Callitriche paulistris var. autumnalis

Plant Description

Life Cycle:

Annual

Habitat:

Fresh water rock pools

Sources in Malta:

Unfrequent - Rare: Examples include Ghar Lapsi, Wied Incita and Wied Mgarr ix-Xini(Gozo).

Plant Height:

Plants can extend up to about 25cm long in water.

Flowering Time:

Dec-Apr

A fresh water plant which its habit is restricted in few pools of rain water contained in natural rock gaps and pits, a habitat referred to as rock pools. Such pools are available between October to April-May, which is the life period of this annual plant. Flowering and fruit formation starts from November/December. Plant forms a tuft of fibrous, slightly coiled, hyaline-white roots that are found in the little layer of soil resting at the base of the pool. Plant shrivels quickly when completely removed from water.

The glabrous, fragile plant has thin green stems with opposite and decussate leaf arrangement, widely spaced at the lower part, and gets gradually closer towards the upper part, resulting in a star shape arrangement at the tip of the stems. The leaves are sessile, linear-ovate in shape, widest at base, and slightly tapering. They are very thin and about 8mm long. Leave tips end abruptly, often straight across (= truncate). Small bubbles are often found attached to the plant leaves.

Flowers are minute and inconspicuous, found at leaf axils. Male and female flowers seperated (=monoecious) but very close to each other - both in the same leaf axil. Styles of female flowers drop away. The fruits are pale green structures, not more than 2mm in size with 4 swollen lobes which have a hyaline (transparant) border.

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