Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Hydrocotyle rivularis

Leaves. Photographer Jackie Miles, South East Forests National Park

Common name

A Pennywort

Family

Araliaceae

Where found

Stream banks, swampy areas, and in flowing and still water. ACT. Kosciuszko National Park and the mountains to the west of Kosciuszko National Park. Occasionally elsewhere at high altitude.

Notes

Creeping perennial herb, rooting at the nodes. Stems hairless, to more than 1 m long. Leaves arising from the nodes, single or in clusters, to 30 mm in diameter, compound, with 3 leaflets. Middle leaflet round, 0.3–1.1 cm long, 3–13 mm wide, with 3 lobes at the tip, the middle lobe toothed. Lateral leaflets 1–1.1 cm long, 13–15.5 mm wide, deeply two lobed. Leaf stalks and lower surface of the leaves hairless. Flowers bisexual, occasionally with a few apparently male flowers. Flowers with 5 petals, white, the margins of the petals occasionally purple, each 0.65–0.75 mm long. Umbels 7–10-flowered, round, 3–5 mm in diameter. Flowering: December to February.

Family was Apiaceae.

All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.

Vulnerable Vic.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Hydrocotyle~rivularis  (accessed 19 January, 2021)