Mayaca fluviatilis Aubl.

STREAM BOGMOSS

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Here M. fluviatilis is treated as the only species in Florida and occurring throughout the American tropics. Carvalho (2007) retained M. aubletii as a synonym of M. fluviatilis, but based on subtle anther differences recognized M. kunthii and M. sellowiana as widespread species with rare occurrences in the southeastern USA. In a treatment focused on Cuba, Urquiola Cruz (2001) recognized M. aubletii and M. fluviatilis as distinct species, giving them virtually the same distribution as throughout the American tropics, and distinguished M. fluviatilis by being generally erect plants with leaves spirally arranged with short bifurcate apices, pedicels 1-5 mm or rarely to 10 mm long, petals white, pink, or purple and rounded at the apex, and capsules oblong-elliptic vs. M. aubletii as generally creeping plants with leaves arranged on the dorsal and lateral part of the stems and without bifurcate apices, pedicels 5-30 mm long, petals white to pink-purple and emarginate at the apex, and capsules subglobose to ovoid.

Native OBL (NWPL)