Limnobium spongia

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Distribution Map: Based on vouchered plant specimens only. View county names by placing the mouse cursor over a particular county.

Species Distribution Map
Family:HYDROCHARITACEAE
Species:Limnobium spongia (Bosc) Rich. ex Steud.
Common Name:American Frog's Bit; American Sponge plant
Habitat:**
Associated Ecological Communities:**
Growth Habit:Herb
Duration:Perennial
Category:Vascular
USDA Symbol:**
Plant Notes:American Frog's Bit is a native herbaceous perennial in the Tape-Grass family (Hyfrocharitaceae). It can be found in scattered locations throughout Alabama, often in association with larger rivers. American Frog's Bit occurs in rivers and lakes, in sloughs, in gum or cypress ponds, and in beaver ponds. It is an aquatic plant, either free floating or stranded on mud. It is colonial by stolons. Leaves are floating or raised above the water’s surface. The form a rosette. They are cordate to reniform in outline, petiolate, entire, and glabrous. The floating leaves are thick and spongy with aerenchyma tissue. Emersed leaves lack this tissue and are relatively thin. Flowers are solitary. American Frog's Bit is dioecious. Male flowers consist of 9-12 white stamens. Female flowers have 3 sepals and 3 petals that are white in color. The fruit is a capsule with 200+ small seed. After fertilization, the peduncles recurve and the fruit develop under water. The seed are released in a gelatinous mass. The foliage of American Frog’s Bit is eaten by turtles, muskrats, and deer. The gelatinous seed mass is consumed by Golden Eye, Green-Winged Teal, Mallard, Old Squaw, Northern Pintail, Ring-Necked Duck, and Wood Ducks. American Frog's Bit is sold as an aquarium and pool plant. Its tendency for form thick floating mats makes it undesirable in small ponds and recreation areas. It is listed as an invasive plant by the state of California.--A. Diamond
Taxonomic Notes:**
Status:Native, OBL (NWI)
References:**
Specimen: View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

FamilyHYDROCHARITACEAE - Tape-Grass family
Genus Limnobium
Species Limnobium spongia (Bosc) Rich. ex Steud. - American Frog's Bit; American Sponge plant

Citation

Citation Limnobium spongia (Bosc) Richard ex Steudel, Nomencl. Bot. (ed. 2) 2: 45. 1841.
Basionym: Hydrocharis spongia Bosc 1807.
Type: USA: SOUTH CAROLINA: "dans les fosses tourbeux de la Basse-Caroline",

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

SynonymFull CitationBasionymType
Hydrocharis cordifolia Hydrocharis cordifolia Nuttall, Gen. N. Amer. Pl. 2: 241. 1818, nom. illegit.Hydrocharis spongia Bosc 1807. 
Hydrocharis spongia Hydrocharis spongia Bosc, Ann. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. 9: 396, pl. 30. 1807. SOUTH CAROLINA: "dans les fosses tourbeux de la Basse-Caroline",
Limnobium boscii Limnobium boscii Richard, Mém. Cl. Sci. Math. Inst. France 12(2): 32. 1814, nom. illegit.Hydrocharis spongia Bosc 1807. 
Rhizakenia ovata Rhizakenia ovata Rafinesque, Autik. Bot. 188. 1840. "New England to Florida?",

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Autauga, Baldwin, Dallas, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Marengo, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Wilcox

Counties represented by specimen data listed below:

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, AMAL, AUA, TROY, UNA, USAM, UWAL

Range of years during which specimens were collected: 1977 - 1978

Barcode / Accession No. County Coll. Date Collector &
Collection No.		 Herbarium &
Herbarium Name Used		 Image
USAM000007330 Mobile 11 Aug 1978 LeLong, Michel G.
10458		 USAM
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Richard ex Steudel
UWAL0039513 Marshall 23 Sep 2015 Webb, David H.
8233		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc.) L. C. Rich. ex Steud.
TROY000029482 Montgomery 23 Aug 2009 Diamond, Alvin R.
20882		 TROY
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Richard ex Steudel
UWAL0046181 Autauga 07 Sep 2017 Parker, Matthew R.
1191		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Richard ex Steudel
UWAL0039443 Marshall 12 Jul 2017 Webb, David H.
8475		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (bosc) L. C. Rich. ex Steud.
UWAL0049655 Lauderdale 29 Aug 2019 Webb, David H.
8744		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich. ex Steudel
UWAL0049657 Lauderdale 29 Aug 2019 Webb, David H.
8742		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich. ex Steudel
USAM000007331 Wilcox 04 Aug 1978 Haynes, Robert R.
6864		 USAM
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Richard ex Steudel
AMAL00020096 Montgomery 17 Sep 2012 Spaulding, Daniel D.
13581		 AMAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Richard ex Steudel
UWAL0012569 Montgomery 17 Sep 2012 Spaulding, Daniel D.
13578		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Richard ex Steudel
UWAL0049560 Lawrence 05 Oct 2020 Webb, David H.
9186		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich. ex Steud.
UWAL0049633 Jackson 22 Jul 2019 Webb, David H.
8724b		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich. ex Steud.
AMAL00020121 Montgomery 17 Sep 2012 Spaulding, Daniel D.
13578		 AMAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Richard ex Steudel
UWAL0004549 Baldwin 17 Jul 2007 Spaulding, Daniel D.
12688		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich. ex Steud.
UWAL0039409 Marshall 14 Oct 2015 Webb, David H.
8253		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Rich. ex Steud.
UWAL0012566 Montgomery 17 Sep 2012 Spaulding, Daniel D.
13581		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Richard ex Steudel
TROY000050923 Dallas 21 Oct 2020 Diamond, Alvin R.
29506		 TROY
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Richard ex Steudel
UWAL0047163 Lauderdale 08 Oct 2019 Webb, David H.
8830		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich. ex Steud.
UNA00025174 Wilcox 04 Aug 1978 Haynes, Robert R.
6864		 UNA
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich. ex Steud.
TROY000026118 Baldwin 17 Jul 2007 Spaulding, Daniel D.
12688		 TROY
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Richard ex Steudel
UWAL0039464 Marshall 17 Sep 2015 Webb, David H.
8223		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Rich. ex Steud.
UWAL0047267 Marshall 04 Oct 2017 Webb, David H.
8506		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich.
TROY000025397 Monroe 04 Oct 2007 Diamond, Alvin R.
18480		 TROY
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Richard ex Steudel
AMAL00015374 Baldwin 17 Jul 2007 Spaulding, Daniel D.
12688		 AMAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Rich. ex Steud.
TROY000048576 Autauga 07 Sep 2017 Parker, Matthew R.
1191		 TROY
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Richard ex Steudel
UWAL0049656 Marshall 11 Oct 2019 Webb, David H.
8845		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich. ex Steudel
UWAL0046047 Autauga 21 Sep 2018 Parker, Matthew R.
1797		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Richard ex Steudel
UWAL0004550 Marengo 08 Oct 2008 England, J. Kevin
1388		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich. ex Steud.
UWAL0043313 Baldwin 01 Oct 2002 Larsen, Harry S.
1136		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) Rich. ex Steud.
TROY000048193 Autauga 21 Sep 2018 Parker, Matthew R.
1797		 TROY
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Richard ex Steudel
UWAL0049573 Lawrence 11 Aug 2020 Webb, David H.
9110		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich. ex Steud.
AUA_ACC_57509 Baldwin 3 Jun 1972 Kral, Robert
47148		 AUA
Limnobium Spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich. Ex Steud.
UWAL0004553 Montgomery 23 Aug 2009 Diamond, Alvin R.
20882		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich. ex Steud.
UNA00024157 Baldwin 26 Sep 1977 Wiersema, John H.
292		 UNA
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich. ex Steud.
UWAL0004552 Montgomery 23 Aug 2009 Diamond, Alvin R.
20883		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich. ex Steud.
UWAL0049574 Limestone 28 Jul 2020 Webb, David H.
9040		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich. ex Steud.
UWAL0039469 Jackson 03 Jul 2018 Webb, David H.
8580		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Rich. ex Steud.
TROY000029468 Montgomery 23 Aug 2009 Diamond, Alvin R.
20883		 TROY
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L. C. Richard ex Steudel
ALNHS00003670 Montgomery 28 Aug 2015 Barger, T. Wayne
SP#2097		 ALNHS
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich.
UWAL0004551 Monroe 04 Oct 2007 Diamond, Alvin R.
18480		 UWAL
Limnobium spongia (Bosc) L.C. Rich. ex Steud.
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