Marsh Seedbox

Ludwigia palustris

USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 28 March 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
Illustration: USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

What is Marsh Seedbox?

Physical Characteristics

• A type of water primrose

Leaves:

• Elliptical shaped
• 0.28-1.77 inches long
• 0.16-0.91 inches wide
• Leaf stalk 0.12-0.47 inches long

Flowers:

• 4 sepals, 0.06-0.08 inches long
• No petals
• 4 stamen
• Fleshy
• 4 lobes

Fruit:

• Stretched spherical shape
• 0.08-0.2 inches long
• 0.08-0.12 inches thick
• Immobile

Seeds:

• Several indistinct rows
• 0.02-0.04 inches long

Stem:

• Creeping
• Up to 5.75 inches long

Roots:

• Rooting at nodes

Where Does it Grow?

Marsh seedbox can be found in wet places such as ditches, swamps, marsh-meadows, shallow water, and wet gravel.

Pros and Cons of Marsh Seedbox

Ducks and other waterfowl will consume the seeds of water primrose. Submerged portions of all aquatic plants provide habitats for many micro and macro invertebrates. These invertebrates in turn are used as food by fish and other wildlife species (e.g. amphibians, reptiles, ducks, etc). After aquatic plants die, their decomposition by bacteria and fungi provides food (called “detritus”) for many aquatic invertebrates.