Hippuris

Hippuris
Common mare's tail (Hippuris vulgaris) from Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Plantaginaceae
Tribe:	Callitricheae
Genus:	Hippuris L.
Species
?Hippuris montana ?Hippuris tetraphylla Hippuris vulgaris

Hippuris, the mare's tail, was previously the sole genus in the family Hippuridaceae. Following genetic research by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, it has now been transferred to the family Plantaginaceae, with Hippuridaceae being reduced to a synonym of Plantaginaceae.

It includes one to three species depending on taxonomic interpretation. Some authorities only accept the first species of those listed below, treating the other two as synonyms of it:

• Common mare's tail, Hippuris vulgaris
  • Mountain mare's tail, Hippuris montana
  • Fourleaf mare's tail, Hippuris tetraphylla

They are aquatic plants found in shallow ponds and streams, both slow-moving and fast-flowing. Hippuris, despite being a flowering plant, is sometimes mistakenly identified with the non-flowering plant horsetail.

References

• "Hippuridaceae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
• "Hippuris". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.

External links

• Distribution map, description, and picture of H. vulgaris
• Description and picture of H. vulgaris Archived 2005-04-06 at the Wayback Machine
• Hippuridaceae of Mongolia in FloraGREIF Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine