Biology
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In the wild starfruit is usually an annual plant but under cultivation it has been known to live for up to three years. The seeds germinate below the water in early winter and the young plants resemble a tuft of grass. It flowers between June and August and the number of flowers produced is related to the time the mud remains moist. If the mud dries quickly, only a single flower may be produced before the plant dies.
The plant is variable in appearance depending on water levels. If conditions suit, starfruit can grow to become a large plant with up to 150 flowers. These are capable of self-pollination but it is thought likely that cross-fertilisation occurs as the flowers are popular with beetles and hoverflies.
The seed capsules look like six-pointed stars. The seeds can germinate quickly but most remain in the mud at the bottom of the pond. It is the seeds' ability to remain dormant for extended periods, suddenly germinating when the right conditions are present, that allow the plant to dramatically re-appear when the pond has been disturbed.
Conservation
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Starfruit is included in English Nature's Species Recovery Programme and Plantlife's Back from the Brink project. Originally, the project attempted a programme of re-introduction into suitable ponds within the plant's former range. However, this enjoyed little success and it was as a result of the activities of a commons preservation society that the secret of starfruit's recovery was discovered.
This preservation society in Buckinghamshire had decided to restore their village pond and had set about clearing the accumulation of weed and rubbish from the bottom. In doing this, they disturbed the mud and, a few weeks later, a local botanist noticed the re-appearance of starfruit. The seeds which had lain dormant in the mud of the pond for many years had germinated.
Plantlife experimented by disturbing other ponds nearby and found that starfruit appeared within a relatively short time. This early success led to a change of policy with regard to the recovery programme and efforts have been concentrated on discovering more about the precise conditions required by the plant.
Starfruit has been a victim of changes in human activity. It has declined due to changes in the way we interact with our environment. The aim of the recovery programme is to re-create the conditions needed to return a rare and unusual but important native species back to a state where it remains part of our natural heritage.
Description
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Starfruit is so named because of the distinctive fruits this plant bears which appear as six-sided stars. The plant's appearance depends on the water level of the ponds where it grows. If the water level is high, starfruit retains its aquatic growth form with floating leaves produced on the end of long wiry stalks. When the water level drops sufficiently to expose the plants, previously floating leaves shrivel and are replaced by shorter tougher ones. The flower comprises three white petals which are shiny yellow at the base and the anthers appear large and yellow. The number of fruits produced can vary from just a couple to more than 20, depending on the size of the plant.
Habitat
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Starfruit is largely associated with ponds that occur on commons or village greens, as it has a requirement for periodic disturbance such as that resulting from the trampling effects of grazing animals. It also appears to prefer shallow, saucer-shaped ponds with fluctuating water levels, often on gravel with little or no organic layer. It does best in places with open vegetation, lack of shade and areas of bare soil.
Range
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Starfruit is found in southern and south-western Europe where it is not considered rare, but in the UK it has always been uncommon. Its former range was restricted to a few counties in the south-east with occasional records in the Midlands. During the 20th Century it has declined considerably and by 1980 it was only known from one pond. Following the implementation of management works and regular monitoring to ponds where it was formerly recorded, starfruit has been re-discovered in more than half a dozen ponds during the 1990's, mostly in Surrey and Buckinghamshire.
Status
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Classified as Endangered in the UK.
Threats
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Starfruit has never been common in Britain, being largely confined to a few localities in the south-east. The plant declined spectacularly in the 20th century and by 1980 was only known from one pond. This was no doubt due to the neglect and lack of management of ponds and changes from traditional methods of watering livestock. The growth of competing plants is thought to have choked out starfruit which needs open vegetation. Many ponds will also have suffered a decline in water quality; starfruit has a requirement for high water quality and low nutrient levels. In addition, ponds were filled in or managed for angling interests with a constant water level instead of the fluctuating levels preferred by this species.
Distribution in Egypt
provided by Bibliotheca Alexandrina LifeDesk
Nile and Mediterranean regions.
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- BA Cultnat
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- Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Global Distribution
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Western and southern Europe, north Africa, Cyprus, Syria, Palestine, Turkey, Caucasus, Iran, central Asia, India.
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- BA Cultnat
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- Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Habitat
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Inundated land, muddy canal banks.
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- BA Cultnat
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Life Expectancy
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Damasonium alisma
provided by wikipedia EN
Damasonium alisma is a species of flowering marsh plant known by the common name of starfruit. Its native range includes parts of Great Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Kazakhstan.[3][4]
Damasonium alisma is native to the British Isles and was at one time commonly found in south and central England.[5] Numbers have declined as a result of the loss of pond habitats.[6] It was not recorded in the wild in 2006 and is classified as endangered within the United Kingdom.[7] Seeds from the (extinct) Headley Heath population were germinated in undisturbed ponds managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust in 2013, and have grown there each year since (at least up to 2018).
Ecology
Damasonium alisma grows in acidic ponds. In Great Britain it went into decline along with the village pond. It once grew in many English counties from Sussex north to Shropshire, but by 1900 was reduced to two ponds in Buckinghamshire and one in Surrey. It is gradually starting to make a comeback due to intense conservation efforts. It requires open, well-lit, shallow water to grow in and regularly churned-up mud for its seeds to germinate.[8][9]
It is very variable in form according to the depth of the water it is growing in. Dwarf plants with aerial leaves occur growing sub-terrestrially on mud. The number of ovules vary. Usually there are two in each carpel, but carpels with four to many occur over the range. Multi-ovulate forms from southwestern Europe and Sicily were originally described as D. polyspermum.
The shape of the follicles depends on the number of seeds; the beak (empty upper part) of the carpel is elongated in two-seeded plants, whereas in many-seeded plants the seeds occupy more of the follicle and the beak is relatively shorter and less well defined.
Taxonomy
It was first described by Carl Linnaeus as Alisma damasonium in 1753, but was assigned to the genus, Damasonium, in 1768 by Philip Miller.[10][11]
References
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^ Lansdown, R. V. (2011). "Damasonium alisma. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011: e.T164465A5879418". Retrieved 27 June 2020.
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^ "Damasonium alisma Mill. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
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^ "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". apps.kew.org. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
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^ Altervista Flora Italiana, Mestolaccia stellata, Starfruit Damasonium alisma
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^ "Species: Damasonium alisma (Starfruit)", Interactive Flora of NW Europe, retrieved 11 July 2010
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^ Perring, Franklyn (23–30 December 1976), "Records For Leisure And Profit", New Scientist, Reed Business Information, vol. 72, no. 1032, p. 725, retrieved 11 July 2010
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^ "Damasonium alisma", Millennium Seed Bank Project, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, archived from the original on 7 July 2010, retrieved 11 July 2010
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^ "Damasonium alisma | Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora". www.brc.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
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^ "Damasonium alisma: Starfruit | NBN Atlas". species.nbnatlas.org. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
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^ "Damasonium alisma". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens.
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^ Miller, P. (1768). Gardeners Dictionary (8 ed.). London.
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Damasonium alisma: Brief Summary
provided by wikipedia EN
Damasonium alisma is a species of flowering marsh plant known by the common name of starfruit. Its native range includes parts of Great Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Kazakhstan.
Damasonium alisma is native to the British Isles and was at one time commonly found in south and central England. Numbers have declined as a result of the loss of pond habitats. It was not recorded in the wild in 2006 and is classified as endangered within the United Kingdom. Seeds from the (extinct) Headley Heath population were germinated in undisturbed ponds managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust in 2013, and have grown there each year since (at least up to 2018).
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