Cabomba furcata, also known as red cabomba and forked fanwort,European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). (n.d.-b). Cabomba furcata (CABFU). EPPO Global Database. Retrieved February 17, 2025, from https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/CABFU is a rhizomatous, perennial, aquatic herb in the family Cabombaceae native to tropical America. It is used as an aquarium plant.Wilstermann-Hildebrand, M. (n.d.-b). Gattung Cabomba - Haarnixen. Heimbiotop. Retrieved February 17, 2025, from https://www.heimbiotop.de/cabomba.html#furcata
Description Vegetative characteristics Cabomba furcata is a rhizomatous,Madriñán, S., Rial, A., Bedoya, A. M., Fernández, M. (2017). Plantas acuáticas de la Orinoquia colombiana. p. 26. Kolumbien: Universidad de los Andes. perennial,Cabomba furcata Schult. & Schult. f. (n.d.). USDA Plants Database. Retrieved February 17, 2025, from https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/plant-profile/CAFU13 aquatic herb.Pellegrini, M. O. O. & Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. (n.d.-d). Cabomba furcata Schult. & Schult.f. Flora E Funga Do Brasil. Retrieved February 17, 2025, from https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/FB6612 Both submerged and floating leaves are produced. The mostly whorled,Wiersema, J. H. (1989). A New Species of Cabomba (Cabombaceae) From Tropical America. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 76(4), 1167–1168. https://doi.org/10.2307/2399705 dark purple submerged leaves are dichotomously or trichotomously branched. Generative characteristics The bisexual,Developmental Genetics of the Flower: Advances in Botanical Research. p. 18. (2006). Niederlande: Academic Press. purple, 5–10 mm long, and 6–12 mm wide flowers have 2–5.5 cm long pedicels. Cytology The chromosome count is 2n = 52.Ørgaard, M. (1991), The genus Cabomba (Cabombaceae)–a taxonomic study. Nordic Journal of Botany, 11: 179-203. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-1051.1991.tb01819.x The chloroplast genome of Cabomba furcata is 160271 bp long.Gruenstaeudl, M., Gerschler, N., & Borsch, T. (2018). Bioinformatic workflows for generating complete plastid genome sequences—an example from Cabomba (Cabombaceae) in the context of the phylogenomic analysis of the water-lily clade. Life, 8(3), 25.
Taxonomy It was published by Josef August Schultes and Julius Hermann Schultes in 1830.Linné, Carl von, Römer, J. J., Schultes, Joseph August, Schultes, Julius Hermann, Sprengel, Kurt Polycarp Joachim, & Cotta, J. G. (1817). Caroli a Linné ... Systema vegetabilium :secundum classes, ordines, genera, species. Cum characteribus, differentiis et synonymiis (Vol. 7, Issue 2, p. 1379). Sumtibus J.G. Cottae. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/736606 The lectotype specimen, which was collected by Leandro do Sacramento in 1821, was designated in 1991 by Marian Ørgaard.Missouri Botanical Garden. (n.d.-g). Cabomba furcata Schult. & Schult. f. Tropicos. Retrieved February 17, 2025, from https://www.tropicos.org/name/22600137 Etymology The specific epithet furcata means forked.Pultenaea furcata M.A.M.Renner & R.L.Barrett. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved February 17, 2025, from https://beta.ipni.org/n/77307978-1Glossary A-B – The Bible of Botany. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2025, from https://bibleofbotany.com/index/glossary-introduction/glossary-a-l/
Ecology Habitat It occurs in freshwater lagoons,Kirkconnell, A., Bradley, P. E., Rey-Millet, Y. (2020). Photographic Guide to the Birds of Cuba. Vereinigtes Königreich: Bloomsbury Publishing. ponds,Liogier, A. H., Martorell, L. F. (2000). Flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands : a systematic synopsis. p. 58. Puerto Rico: Ed. de la Universidad. streams, lakes, and floodplains.
Cultivation This is used as an aquarium plant. Carbon dioxide addition is usually necessary, mostly because this plant requires high light and regular fertilization for optimal growth.
As an invasive species Cabomba furcata has been reported as an invasive species in Kerala, India, in the Kalutara district of Sri Lanka,Yakandawala, D. M. D., Yakandawala, K., Madola, I., & Herath, H. M. L. K. (2022). Would history repeat? Detection of Cabomba furcata, a potential invasive plant in natural ecosystems of Sri Lanka. Ceylon Journal of Science, 51(2), 155-163. in Chini Lake, Malaysia,Yunoh, S. M. M. (2011, December 28). Cabomba furcata (Cabombaceae). Malaysia Biodiversity Information System (MyBIS). https://www.mybis.gov.my/art/130 and Taiwan.Cabomba piauhyensis 紅花穗蓴. (n.d.). 台灣植物資訊整合查詢系統. Retrieved October 3, 2024, from https://tai2.ntu.edu.tw/species/342%20002%2002%200Wu, S. H., Yang, T. A., Teng, Y. C., Chang, C. Y., Yang, K. C., & Hsieh, C. F. (2010). Insights of the latest naturalized flora of Taiwan: change in the past eight years. Taiwania, 55(2), 139-159. Its active stem propagation prevents light from penetrating the surface of water. It suffocates the water bodies, economically and ecologically hindering the growth of native aquatic plants and freshwater fish. Red cabomba requires huge quantity of oxygen, resulting in decline of biodiversity and water quality.
References