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Ludwigia brevipes (B.H. Long ex Britt., A. Braun & Small) Eames
Long Beach Seedbox
Federal Protection: No US federal protection
State Protection: No Georgia state protection
Global Rank: G2
State Rank: SH
Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: Yes
SWAP High Priority Species (SGCN): No
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 1
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Pondshores, interdune swales, coastal marshes.
Perennial herb with stems up to 28 inches (70 cm) long, creeping and rooting at the nodes, sometimes forming mats. Leaves usually 0.4 - 0.7 inch (1 - 1.7 cm) long and up to 0.3 inch (0.2 - 0.7 cm) wide, opposite, oval (submerged leaves are linear and narrower), with rounded tips and tapering bases. Flowers are solitary, held in the angle between leaf and stem, with 4 sepals and 4 yellow petals, all less than 0.2 inch (0.5 cm) long (petals are sometimes absent). The fruit is a curved capsule less than 0.4 inch (0.6 - 1 cm) long; both the fruit and flower stalks are shorter than the nearest leaves. All parts of the plant may have very short, hooked hairs. (Note: this description applies only to plants growing on shorelines or in very shallow water, not submerged.)
Pond Seedbox (Ludwigia arcuata) also forms mats of creeping stems; its fruits are on stalks 0.5 - 1.4 inch (1.5 - 3.5 cm) long and its petals are 0.7 - 1.1 cm long, always longer than 0.2 inch.
Creeping Seedbox (Ludwigia repens) and Common Water-purslane (Ludwigia palustris) also form mats in wetlands; their flower stalks are absent or about 0.1 inch (1 - 3 mm) long. Creeping Seedbox petals fall quickly and are rarely seen; Common Water-purslane flowers have 4 green sepals and no petals.
Southern Water-purslane (Ludwigia spathulata) occurs in sinkhole and cypress-gum ponds in the Coastal Plain and on granite and quartzite outcrops in the Piedmont. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=21566
Shallow water, pond shores, blackwater rivers, interdunal swales, marshes, shores of impoundments, ditches.
Long Beach Seedbox is a perennial herb that reproduces sexually but spreads primarily by rooting at nodes on its creeping stems. There is no published information about pollination in this species; most species of Ludwigia are pollinated by bees and flies. But the small size, or even absence, of petals on the flowers of this species suggests that it is self-pollinating.
Surveys are best conducted during flowering and fruiting (July–October) when the length of the flower and fruit stalks is observable. Long Beach Seedbox belongs to a group of five related Ludwigia species (L. brevipes, L. palustris, L. repens, and L. arcuata) that often grow together and naturally hybridize, which can make positive identification difficult. Long Beach Seedbox and Common Water-purslane (L. palustris) also frequently hybridize, producing plants known as Ludwigia X lacustris. To further complicate identification, two other species, Pond Seedbox (L. arcuata) and Creeping Seedbox (L. repens), hybridize to produce plants that closely resemble Long Beach Seedbox.
Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey. It is rare throughout its range.
Draining, ditching, and filling of wetlands. Impoundment of streams. Pollution of streams and coastal waters. Coastal development.
Ludwigia brevipes is ranked SH by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, indicating that it is an "historic" species, not seen in Georgia in many years. It was documented only once, in 1942 in a pond in Emanuel County.
Protect wetlands from ditching, draining, and filling. Protect coastal habitats from development.
GADNR. 2020. Element occurrence records for Ludwigia brevipes. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Social Circle, Georgia.
Godfrey, R.K. and J.W. Wooten. 1981. Aquatic and wetland plants of southeastern United States, Vol. 2, dicotyledons. University of Georgia Press, Athens.
Hung, K-H., B.A. Schaal, T-W. Hsu, Y-C. Chiang, C-I. Peng, T-Y. Chiang. 2009. Phylogenetic relationships of diploid and polyploid species in Ludwigia sect. Isnardia (Onagraceae) based on chloroplast and nuclear DNAs. Taxon 58(4): 1216-1226.
NatureServe. 2019. Ludwigia brevipes comprehensive report. NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=ludwigia+brevipes
Peng, C-I., C.L. Schmidt, P.C. Hoch, and P.H. Raven. 2005. Systematics and evolution of Ludwigia Section Dantia (Onagraceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 92(3): 307-359. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/40035477.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3Adff87b784692c089b35a0a8a1a86b892
Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, and C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.
Raven, P.H. 1979. A survey of reproductive biology in Onagraceae. New Zealand Journal of Botany 17:575-593. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/0028825X.1979.10432572?needAccess=true
Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-Atlantic States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm
Linda G. Chafin
L. Chafin, May 2007: original account
K. Owers, Feb. 2010: added pictures
L. Chafin, March 2020: updated original account
