Rotala ramosior

(L.) Koehne

Toothcup

G5Secure Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.147762
Element CodePDLYT0B030
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderMyrtales
FamilyLythraceae
GenusRotala
COSEWICE,T
Other Common Names
lowland rotala (EN) Lowland Toothcup (EN) Rotala rameux (FR)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2023-05-04
Change Date1984-08-29
Edition Date2023-05-04
Edition AuthorsNordman, C. (2023).
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Rotala ramosior occurs in temperate and tropical North and South America. It is a wetland plant, found in much of the eastern United States, the Central Valley of California and at scattered locations elsewhere in the western United States. It occurs (in the United States) on various National Forests, National Wildlife Refuges, lands of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and state conservation lands. Threats include the conversion of its habitat for agriculture or aquaculture, drainage of wetlands, and other water management which impacts wetlands.
Range Extent Comments
Rotala ramosior occurs in temperate and tropical North and South America, from southern British Columbia and Ontario in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Cental America and the Caribbean, to Peru and Brazil. It occurs in much of the eastern United States, from southern New England, to Florida, central Texas and the eastern Great Plains. It occurs in the Central Valley of California and at scattered locations elsewhere in the western United States. It is introduced in Africa, Europe and Asia. The native range extent in the Americas is estimated to be 34 million square kilometers (GBIF 2023, Godfrey and Wooten 1981, Graham 2022).
Occurrences Comments
Based on herbarium collections, photo-based observations, and anecdotal evidence, there are likely over 300 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2023).
Threat Impact Comments
Rotala ramosior is a wetland plant, threats include the conversion of its habitat for agriculture or aquaculture, drainage of wetlands, and other water management which impacts wetlands.
Ecology & Habitat

Description

Toothcup is a small, glabrous annual with simple or branched, erect to prostrate stems that are up to 10 cm high. The opposite, narrowly lance-shaped leaves have short petioles and are 15-30 mm long. The tiny, solitary flowers are sessile in the axils of upper leaves. The cup-shaped, shallowly 4-lobed calyx is 1-3 mm long in flower but up to 4 mm long in fruit. The 4 stamens are shorter than the 1 mm long, white petals. The fruit is a globose capsule that is ca. 3 mm across.

Diagnostic Characteristics

Ammania coccinea has sessile, clasping leaf bases. Gratiola have short-stalked flowers and separate sepals. A hand lens will be necessary to discern the flower characters.

From Field Guide to Colorado's Wetland Plants (Culver and Lemly 2013):
Main Characteristics:
·Annual herb with 4 petals, white or pink
·Flowers solitary in axils
·Leaves opposite and arranged at right angles to leaf pair above and below, tapered to petioles

Habitat

This species is found in wet open sites, low places, shores, depressions, ditches, temporary pools, marshes, and rice fields at elevations ranging from 0 to 1900 meters (Godfrey and Wooten 1981, Graham 2022).

Reproduction

This is an annual plant that produces numerous small seeds, about 0.3 mm long (Godfrey and Wooten 1981).
Terrestrial Habitats
Cropland/hedgerow
Palustrine Habitats
TEMPORARY POOLHERBACEOUS WETLAND
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
KentuckyS4Yes
WisconsinS2Yes
North CarolinaS5Yes
MontanaS1Yes
MissouriSNRYes
OregonS2Yes
MichiganS3Yes
IllinoisSNRYes
IndianaSNRYes
New JerseyS3Yes
AlabamaSNRYes
NebraskaS4Yes
South DakotaSNRYes
OklahomaSNRYes
PennsylvaniaS3Yes
LouisianaSNRYes
MassachusettsS1Yes
ArizonaS1Yes
IdahoSNRYes
MinnesotaS2Yes
New HampshireSHYes
VirginiaS5Yes
DelawareS4Yes
KansasS3Yes
District of ColumbiaSNRYes
TennesseeSNRYes
New YorkS2Yes
WashingtonSNRYes
ConnecticutS1Yes
FloridaSNRYes
Rhode IslandS1Yes
GeorgiaSNRYes
ColoradoS1Yes
OhioSNRYes
MarylandS4Yes
MississippiS5Yes
CaliforniaSNRYes
West VirginiaS3Yes
South CarolinaS5Yes
ArkansasSNRYes
IowaS3Yes
TexasSNRYes
CanadaN1
ProvinceRankNative
British ColumbiaS1Yes
OntarioS1Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
2 - Agriculture & aquacultureSmall (1-10%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
7 - Natural system modificationsRestricted (11-30%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
7.2 - Dams & water management/useRestricted (11-30%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)

Plant Characteristics
DurationANNUAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (2)
Arkansas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Blue MountainOuachita National Forest9,755
Washington (1)
AreaForestAcres
Black CanyonOkanogan National Forest9,681
References (8)
  1. Coffin, B., and L. Pfannmuller, editors. 1988. Minnesota's endangered flora and fauna. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 473 pp.
  2. Cook, C. D. K. 1979. A revision of the genus ROTALA (Lythraceae). Boissiera 29:1-?.
  3. Culver, D. R. and J. M. Lemly. 2013a. Field Guide to Colorado's Wetland Plants. Colorado Natural Heritage Program. Colorado State University. 694 pp.
  4. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2023. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2023).
  5. Godfrey, R.K., and J.W. Wooten. 1981. Aquatic and wetland plants of southeastern United States: Dicotyledons. Univ. Georgia Press, Athens. 933 pp.
  6. Graham, S.A. 2022. Flora of North America. <i>Rotala ramosior</i>. Accessed: September 26, 2022. http://floranorthamerica.org/Rotala_ramosior
  7. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  8. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2023. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2023).