70 A FLORA OF MANILA 
Abundant in the Mariquina River at Pasig; in shallow water in lakes | 
and still streams throughout the Philippines. New Guinea. 
38. OTTELIA Persoon 
Submerged herbs in fresh water. Leaves crowded, the submerged ones 
often narrow, the floating ones long-petioled, with broad blades. Flowers 
solitary, sessile, on a tubular, 2-fid spathe. Sepals linear or oblong. Petals 
large, obovate or orbicular, the base with fleshy appendages. Stamens 6 to 
15. Ovary oblong, beaked, almost 6-celled; styles 6, linear, 2-fid; ovules 
many. Fruit oblong, 6-valved, enclosed in the spathe. 
Species 6 or 7, tropical and subtropical, 1 in the Philippines. 
1. O. alismoides (L.) Pers. Calaboa (Tag.). 
Roots fibrous. Leaves extremely variable, short- or long-petioled ac- 
cording to the depth of the water, the blades of the submerged leaves often 
narrow, of the floating ones ovate to suborbicular, 5 to 20 cm long and wide, 
base rounded or often cordate. Flowers white, about 2 cm long. Fruit 
oblong, crowned by the withered perianth, 2.5 to 4 cm long, the enclosing 
perianth-tube winged. : : 
Abundant in the Mariquina River near Pasig, and in various fresh-water 
esteros; throughout the Philippines in shallow lakes and in still streams. 
Tropical Asia to Australia. 
4, HALOPHILA Thouars 
Slender, submerged, monoecious or dioecious, marine plants. Leaves in 
pairs at each node of the slender creeping stem, ovate to oblong. Spathes 
of both sexes small, solitary, sessile between the pairs of leaves, 1-flowered. 
Male flowers pedicelled. Sepals 3. Petals none. Anthers 3, subsessile. 
Female flowers sessile. Sepals 3. Ovary 1-celled. Styles 3, filiform. 
Ovules several or many. Fruit subglobose, beaked. (Greek “salt” and “to 
love” from habit of growth in salt water.) 
Species, 6 or more, tropical seas of both hemispheres, at least 3 in the 
Philippines. 
Leaves ovate-elliptic, 4 to 5 mm wide...................22..2---222------------- 1. H. ovata 
Leaves linear-oblong to Janceolate, about 2 mm wide................ 2. H. beccarii 
1. H. ovata Gaudich. 
A very slender, prostrate, creeping, submerged, marine plant, the stems 
branched, rooting at the nodes. Leaves ovate-elliptic, thin, obtuse, about 10 
mm long, 4 to 5 mm wide, the petioles slender. Flowers small, solitary, 
monoecious or dioecious, the staminate ones pedicelled, the stamens 3, the 
pistillate ones sessile, the perianth small, 3-parted. Ovary ovoid, 2 mm 
long; styles 3, slender, about 6 mm long. Mature fruit membranaceous, 
globose, 2 to 2.5 mm in diameter. 
In shallow water, Manila Bay, abundant February to May, and washed 
up on the beach in considerable quantities. Otherwise known only from 
the Marianne Islands. 
2. H. beccarii Aschers. 
A delicate, densely matted or caespitose submerged plant, the slender 
stems creeping and rooting on muddy bottoms. Leaves very thin, lanceolate 
to linear-oblong, 0.8 to 1.5 cm long, about 2 mm wide, on long slender 
petioles. Flowers small, monoecious. 
