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Hairy Water Clover

Marsilea vestita

Other common name(s):

Hairy Water-clover, Hairy Waterclover, Clover Fern

Family:

Marsileaceae ((Water Clover Family)

Plant Ecoregion Distribution Map

East Central Texas Plains, Edwards Plateau, Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes, High Plains, Southern Texas Plains, Southwestern Tablelands, Texas Blackland Prairies
Floodplains and Low Terraces2
Balcones Canyonlands, Edwards Plateau Woodland, Semiarid Edwards Plateau
Coastal Sand Plain, Floodplains and Low Terraces4, Southern Subhumid Gulf Coastal Prairies
Canadian/Cimarron High Plains, Llano Estacado
Northern Nueces Alluvial Plains, Rio Grande Floodplain and Terraces, Texas-Tamaulipan Thornscrub
Semiarid Canadian Breaks
Floodplains and Low Terraces1, Northern Blackland Prairie, Southern Blackland Prairie

Plant Characteristics

Growth Form

Wetland

Height

0.5
to
1
ft.

Spread

.5
to
1
ft.

Leaf Retention

Deciduous

Lifespan

Perennial

Habitat and Care Requirements

Soil Type(s)

Mud

Light Requirement

Part Shade

Water Requirement

Medium, High

Native Habitat

Wetland or Riparian

Bloom and Attraction

Bloom Color

No Bloom

Bloom Season

No Bloom

Seasonal Interest

Unknown

Wildlife Benefit

Unknown

Maintenance

It spreads easily, thin it out according to garden space. If foliage becomes dried or brown, cut it back. New growth regenerates quickly if kept moist. Set up a pond or a water collection tank near a downspout to supplement water. Propagation: Root division.

Comments

Small aquatic or wetland plant, forming dense colonies in mud or shallow water. Marsilea vestita looks like a four-leaf clover, but is really a relative of ferns. Not a flowering plant it, has spores. Grows in moist soil or a pond.
Previous Scientific Name(s): Synonym(s): Marsilea fournieri, Marsilea minuta, Marsilea mucronata, Marsilea tenuifolia, Marsilea uncinata, Marsilea vestita ssp. tenuifolia, Marsilea vestita ssp. vestita, Marsilea vestita var. mucronata

References

1) Griffith, Bryce, Omernick & Rodgers (2007). Ecoregions of Texas. 2) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=MAVE2. 3) https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=Marsilea+vestita&formsubmit=Search+Terms. 4) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=14851&locationType=County&mapType=Normal. 5) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=17998#null, 6) Native and Adapted Landscape Plants, City of Austin and Texas A&M, 2014.

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State Office Phone: 830.997.9272

State Office Address:
Native Plant Society of Texas
PO Box 3017
Fredericksburg, TX 78624

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