Marsilea villosa NatureServe Explorer Species Reports — NatureServe Explorer is a source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals and ecological communtities of the U.S and Canada. NatureServe Explorer provides in-depth information on rare and endangered species, but includes common plants and animals too. NatureServe Explorer is a product of NatureServe in collaboration with the Natural Heritage Network.
ITIS Reports — ITIS (the Integrated Taxonomic Information System) is a source for authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world.
FWS Digital Media Library — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Digital Library is a searchable collection of selected images, historical artifacts, audio clips, publications, and video. Marsilea villosa, the ʻihiʻihi or villous waterclover, is a species of fern that is endemic to the islands of Oʻahu, Molokaʻi and Niʻihau in Hawaii. It is found exclusively in areas that experience periodic flooding and become ephemeral pools within low elevation dry forests and shrublands. Standing water allows the sporocarp to open and release spores. It also enables the resulting sperm to swim toward and fertilize female ova. For new plants to become established, the waters must subside. Sporocarps only form once the soil has dried to a certain level. Like other species in its genus, the leaves of M. villosa resemble those of a four-leaf clover.
