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Description |
Geographic Range [top]
Range Description:
Marsilea minuta is widely common in almost all the states of India. It is also widely distributed in tropical Africa and Asia (Cook 1996). In the New World, M. minuta is known only from Trinidad and Tobago, and Pernambuco, Brazil, where it grows at low elevations near the coast in fresh water or occasionally in brackish water (Trinidad) on sandy or clay substrates. In eastern Trinidad this species has formed a colony that extends for several kilometres in a coastal coconut strip, but it is also found in a nearby swamp as well. In northeastern Brazil the plants have been collected in seasonal ponds. Marsilea minuta is a weedy, common, and widely distributed plant in Africa and India; its rarity in the New World may indicate that it was introduced only recently (Johnson 1986).
Countries occurrence:
Native:
Algeria; Angola (Angola, Angola); Bangladesh; Benin; Bhutan; Brazil; Burkina Faso; Cambodia; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; China; Comoros; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte dIvoire; Egypt; Equatorial Guinea (Equatorial Guinea (mainland)); Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; India (Andaman Is., Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal); Indonesia; Japan; Jordan; Kenya; Lao Peoples Democratic Republic; Liberia; Madagascar; Malawi; Malaysia; Maldives; Mali; Morocco; Mozambique; Myanmar; Namibia; Nepal; Niger; Nigeria; Palestinian Territory, Occupied; Philippines; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Somalia; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Tanzania, United Republic of; Thailand; Togo; Trinidad and Tobago; Uganda; Viet Nam; Zambia; Zimbabwe
Regionally extinct:
Israel
Additional data:
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.
Population [top]
Population:
This is a widespread common species.
Current Population Trend: Unknown
Additional data:
Habitat and Ecology [top]
Habitat and Ecology:
It is found in shallow pools, at the edges of rivers, canals and ditches and in rice fields. It is most abundant in temporarily flooded places where it may form large and dense colonies which can become locally dominant. It tolerates considerable organic pollution and sporocarps develops as the water recedes (Cook 1996).
Systems: Freshwater
Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat: Unknown
Use and Trade [top]
Use and Trade:
In Bangladesh, the rural people of Mymensingh eat the fronds as vegetable and they have got relief from hypertension, sleeping disorders and headache by regular eating. In Haluaghat and Dhobaura of Mymensingh district the Garo and Coach drink the juice of fresh shoots as a remedy for cough, respiratory troubles, especially for their babies. Juice or paste of the whole plant is applied externally on the head of patients suffering from sleeping disorder and hypertension; the patients reported that they have got relief from sleeping disorder and hypertension (Sarker and Hossain, 2009). In southern India it is used as medicine as an ingredient in a commercial drug (AYUSH) for treating epilepsy (V. Irudayaraj pers. comm. 2011).
Threats [top]
Major Threat(s):
No threats have been reported for this species.
Conservation Actions [top]
Conservation Actions:
No conservation actions are known or needed for this species.
Citation: Mani, S. 2016. Marsilea minuta. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T164326A96552154. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T164326A96552154.en. Downloaded on 16 August 2016.
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