Pool Sprite or Little Amphianthus
Amphianthus pusillus
33.5497, -82.2574
Field Notes
Description:
Small, delicate, greenish-purple aquatic annual 5 - 10 centimeters (2 - 4 in) tall. The lower, submerged leaves are thin and narrow, about 1 centimeter (0.4 in) long, and grow from the stem base.
Slender branches grow from the top of the submerged stem. They are tipped with a pair of broad, rounded, green, purple-edged, floating leaves--about 4 - 8 millimeters (0.16 - 0.32 in) long and 3 - 5 millimeters (0.12 - 0.2 in) wide--that surround a single white flower. Another flower is submerged on top of the main stem. This flower does not open and fertilizes itself. Flowers from March to April.
Fruits from April to May. Fruit is a capsule 2 - 3 millimeters (0.08 - 0.12 in) wide and 1 millimeter (0.04 in) long that contains many banana-shaped, dark brown seeds about 1 millimeter (0.04 in) long.
Habitat:
Found in shallow pools on Piedmont granite outcrops in full sunlight. Pools dry out in summer. Seeds can lie dormant over several seasons until moisture is available. It's found in Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. This one was photographed at Heggies Rock near Appling (Columbia County), GA. Heggies Rock is protected by the Nature Conservancy.
Notes:
It's also called Snorklewort and Floating Twin-Leaf. It is listed as a Threatened species both federally and in Georgia. The major threat to this plant is quarrying that destroys granite outcrops. Other threats include vehicle traffic, littering, fire building, vandalism, and cattle eutrophication/trampling on outcrops.
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