Re: [APD] Nymphoides question

["Robert T. Ricketts" <rtricketts at verizon_net>]

Caddy579 mentioned the "bananas" falling off after the plant had some
growth.

These "bananas" are storage tubers, not fruit.  They form when the baby
plantlet is still on the mother plant's leaf.  The stored nutrients (from
the mother plant) allow the baby plantlet to float away from the parent when
the parent leaf disintegrates and then "find" shallowish water elsewhere to
root.  The storage tubers allow the plantlet to survive the drift period and
to establish a good root system at its new site.  It is just a highly
specialized form of asexual reproduction.  The presence of the bananas is
only for one relatively short period in the plant's life cycle. Once the
baby plant is well rooted and getting nourishment from the substrate, they
serve no further purpose.
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