Water Clover Leaves

Sporocarps

• Water clover doesn't produce flowers or fruit. As a fern, it reproduces from spores. The spores are contained in bean-like structures that dangle on slim stalks from the leaves. These are called sporocarps and contain the male and female spores. The sporocarp becomes dry and brown when mature. Male and female spores mix and fertilize. When they are released from the sporocarp into wet conditions, they will germinate and grow new plants.

Young Leaves

• Marsilea vestita is a member of a group of 45 species of plants. The plants are ferns and have the same type of fronds that a young fern grows. The new leaves are small curled fiddle heads that look exactly like tiny replicas of young sword ferns and other new fern growth. The fiddle heads are slightly furred, as are the mature leaves. The coiled leaves unfurl as they grow to reveal the characteristic four-leaf clover formation.

Mature Leaves

• Water clover is often mistaken for common clover even though it is not in the same genus. This is because of the arrangement of the leaves. There are two double leaflets that grow across from each other. They give the appearance of four leaves. The environment where the plant is growing will determine what the leaves look like. They may be wavy, scalloped or smooth. The leaves will float on long stalks when the plant is rooted deeply in water. Land-grown or shallow-water plants will have leaves on short or up to 8-inch stems.

Habitat

• Water clover has thin leaves that may be hairy or smooth. This characteristic and the texture of the leaf margins changes, depending on the habitat. Water clover may grow in creek beds, wetlands, ditches, seasonal pools, flooded areas and the edges of other bodies of water. The plant may take hold on dry land or out in deeper water. It can thrive in sun or partial shade, and spreads by rhizomes, creating a thick, tangling mat where it is established.