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*The following is based on text excerpted from: Gann, G.D., K.A. Bradley, & S.W. Woodmansee. 2002. Rare Plants of South Florida: Their History, Conservation, and Restoration. The Institute for Regional Conservation: Miami. For the original text, click on the link above and go to the chapter and page number listed in the Update field below. Cite this page as: Gann, G.D., and S.W. Woodmansee. 2006-2013. Species Account Update, Floristic Inventory of South Florida Database Online. The Institute for Regional Conservation. Delray Beach, Florida. If no Update field is displayed, then cite as the original publication.
Callitriche peploides Nutt.

Matted waterstarwort

South Florida Status: Historical. Last collected in 1977 along the Caloosahatchee River at Alva.

Taxonomy: Dicotyledon; Callitrichaceae.

Habit: Annual terrestrial herb.

Distribution: Native to the southeastern coastal plain, Mexico, and Central America. Wunderlin (1998) reports it as occasional in Florida in the central and western panhandle to the northern and central peninsula.

South Florida Distribution: Lee and Miami-Dade counties.

South Florida Habitats: Shallow water, and moist banks of rivers and streams.

Protection Status: Not listed by any agency.

Aids to Identification: Godfrey & Wooten (1981) has an illustration; Tobe et al. (1998) has an illustration.

References: Chapman, 1883; Small, 1933a; Fassett, 1951; Long & Lakela, 1976; Godfrey & Wooten, 1981; Tobe et al., 1998; Wunderlin, 1998.

Synonyms: None.


Historical Context: Abram P. Garber first collected matted waterstarwort in 1877 in Miami (s.n., GH), presumably in freshwater wetlands along the Miami River. Jeanette P. Standley made the next collections in the early 1900s in Lee County. The first collection was from Fort Myers in 1916 (24, US) and the next from the Mullock Creek area in 1917 (s.n., US), in the vicinity of what is now Estero Bay State Buffer Preserve. Matted waterstarwort was not collected again until 1977 when Leland M. Baltzell collected it on the “bottom” of the Caloosahatchee River in Alva at the bridge on State Road 78 (9231, FLAS), in the vicinity of what is now Caloosahatchee Regional Park. Several plants were found in a group. Gann surveyed this area in 2000, but no plants were found. The entire river edge was scoured and eroded, leaving no apparent habitat for matted waterstarwort. It is possible that it is still present at Caloosahatchee Regional Park or other areas along the Caloosahatchee River. Gann surveyed Caloosahatchee Regional Park with Lee County biologists Roger Clark and Rob Irving in 2001. Some habitat was found, but it is severely impacted by wild hogs and exotic pest plants. More survey work needs to be done in this area.

Comments: Matted waterstarwort is a small annual herb that may be overlooked. It flowers spring through summer, when surveys should be conducted.

Recommendations: · Continue surveys at Caloosahatchee Regional Park · Survey Estero Bay State Buffer Preserve. · If plants are found, map and monitor known populations. · If no plants are found, consider reintroduction to Lee County at Caloosahatchee Regional Park and Estero Bay State Buffer Preserve. · Consider restoring floodplain forests and associated habitats along the Caloosahatchee River as habitat for matted waterstarwort. · Consider restoring freshwater wetlands along the Miami River and reintroducing matted waterstarwort.