Sphenoclea zeylanica

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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:SPHENOCLEACEAE
Species:Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn.
Common Name:Chicken Spike; Gooseweed
Habitat:Emergent aquatic weed occuring in a variety of wetland type habitats.
Associated Ecological Communities:**
Growth Habit:Herb
Duration:Annual
Category:Vascular
USDA Symbol:SPZE
Plant Notes:Chicken Spike is an introduced annual in the Chicken-Spike family (Sphenocleaceae). It is native to warm temperate areas of the Eastern Hemisphere from Africa to Asia. The systematic placement of Sphenoclea has been problematic, and it has been placed variously in the Campanulaceae or in its on family. It also shares certain features with the Phytolaccaceae and Primulaceae. Chicken Spike is a wetland species occurring on river banks, in swamps, along the margins of lakes and ponds, in wet ditches, and in low fields. It has a long history of association with rice cultivation, and Chicken Spike likely was introduced into the United States as a containment of rice seed. In Alabama it occurs primarily along major rivers in the Coastal Plain. Chicken Spike is a tap-rooted annual. Stems are green, glabrous, and hollow. The stems are often thick and spongy near the base. The leaves are alternate, elliptic to oblanceolate in outline, and entire. The leaves are petiolate with blade tissue decurrent nearly to the base of the petiole. Flowers are produced in dense, green, cylindrical, terminal spikes. Flowers are white and actinomorphic (radially symmetric) . They open from the base to the apex of the spike. The fruit is a circumscissile (splitting along a transverse circular line with the “lid” falling off) capsule with numerous seed.--A. Diamond
Taxonomic Notes:A native of the Eastern Hemisphere. First collected in Alabama in 1972 from the Eufaula NWR (Carter et al 2014).
Status:Not Native, OBL (NWI)
References:Carter, R., J.C. Jones, and R.H. Goddard. 2014. Spenoclea zeylanica (Sphenocleaceae) in North America--Dispersal, Ecology, and Morphology. Castanea 79: 33-50.
Specimen: View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

FamilySPHENOCLEACEAE - Chicken-Spike family
Genus Sphenoclea
Species Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn. - Chicken Spike; Gooseweed

Citation

Citation Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner, Fruct. Sem. Pl. 1: 113, pl. 24, f. 5. 1788.
Basionym: **
Type: SRI LANKA:

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

SynonymFull CitationBasionymType
Gaertnera pangati Gaertnera pangati Retzius, Observ. Bot. 6: 24. 1791. INDIA: Kerala: Malabar, without data (holotype: Rheede, Hort. Malab. 11: t. 24. 1692).
Pongatium indicum Pongatium indicum Lamarck, Tabl. Encycl. 1: 444. 1793, nom. illegit.Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner 1788. 
Pongatium zeylanicum Pongatium zeylanicum (Gaertner) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 381. 1891.Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner 1788. 
Rapinia herbacea Rapinia herbacea Loureiro, Fl. Cochinch. 127. 1790.  
Sphenoclea pongatium Sphenoclea pongatium Alph. de Candolle, in de Candolle, Prodr. 7: 548. 1839, nom. illegit.Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner 1788. 

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: Baldwin, Barbour, Choctaw, Clarke, Dallas, Greene, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Pickens, Washington, Wilcox

Counties represented by specimen data listed below:

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, AUA, BRIT, JSU, SAMF, 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
AUA_ACC_35771 Barbour 5 Oct 1972 Hagan, Patrick D.
120		 AUA
Sphenoclea Zeylandica Gaertn.
UNA00063693 Choctaw 15 Aug 2002 Schotz, Alfred
1881		 UNA
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn.
UNA00026750 Wilcox 04 Aug 1978 Wiersema, John H.
406		 UNA
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn.
ALNHS00005934 Monroe 27 Sep 2017 Taylor, Chris T.
SP#4187		 ALNHS
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaetrn.
USAM000014837 Wilcox 04 Aug 1978 Wiersema, John H.
406		 USAM
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
UWAL0047574 Dallas 24 Aug 2010 Barger, T. Wayne
OC-465		 UWAL
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn.
USAM000014836 Washington 25 Oct 1980 LeLong, Michel G.
11758		 USAM
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
JSU135112 Baldwin 9 Jul 2000 Spaulding, Daniel D.
10770		 JSU
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
USAM000014835 Mobile 01 Nov 1980 LeLong, Michel G.
11837		 USAM
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
UNA00026749 Wilcox 22 Oct 1977 Haynes, Robert R.
6392		 UNA
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn.
UWAL0004238 Monroe 17 Sep 2007 Diamond, Alvin R.
18118		 UWAL
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn.
UNA00026752 Dallas 05 Aug 1978 Wiersema, John H.
411		 UNA
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn.
AUA_ACC_30554 Mobile 2 Sep 1976 Bayne, D.R.
 AUA
Sphenoclea Zeylandica Gaertn.
TROY000009316 Monroe 17 Sep 2007 Diamond, Alvin R.
18118		 TROY
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
UWAL0030843 Mobile 20 Sep 1975 Kral, Robert
56609		 UWAL
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn.
ALNHS00004131 Dallas 18 Jul 2016 Barger, T. Wayne
SP#2431		 ALNHS
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn.
UWAL0004237 Greene 24 Aug 2009 Keener, Brian R.
5577		 UWAL
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn.
JSU135113 Clarke 13 Sep 1997 Whetstone, R. David
18859		 JSU
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
UWAL0052146 Pickens 30 Aug 2020 Keener, Brian R.
11885		 UWAL
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn.
SAMF0004555 Monroe 02 Aug 2011 Davenport, Lawrence J.
4756		 SAMF
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
BRIT55074 Baldwin 09 Jul 2000 Spaulding, Daniel D.
10770		 BRIT
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
UWAL0012062 Monroe 02 Aug 2011 Keener, Brian R.
6620		 UWAL
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
USAM000014832 Washington 25 Oct 1980 LeLong, Michel G.
11758		 USAM
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
UWAL0030058 Montgomery 20 Aug 2015 Diamond, Alvin R.
26754		 UWAL
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
USAM000014833 Mobile 01 Nov 1980 LeLong, Michel G.
11837		 USAM
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
USAM000014839 Baldwin 25 Aug 1980 LeLong, Michel G.
11386		 USAM
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
USAM000014838 Baldwin 01 Nov 1980 LeLong, Michel G.
11818		 USAM
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
UNA00026751 Monroe 20 Aug 1978 Davenport, Lawrence J.
773		 UNA
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn.
USAM000014834 Choctaw 16 Aug 1979 Burkhalter, James R.
6588		 USAM
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
TROY000042951 Montgomery 20 Aug 2015 Diamond, Alvin R.
26754		 TROY
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
TROY000031812 Greene 24 Aug 2009 Keener, Brian R.
5577		 TROY
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner
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