Gewöhnlich-Kleefarn vs hooked-pepperwort

Marsilea quadrifolia compared with Marsilea vestita

Key Differences

• Gewöhnlich-Kleefarn is Not Evaluated while hooked-pepperwort is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Gewöhnlich-Kleefarn	hooked-pepperwort
Kingdom same	Plantae (Pflanzen)	Plantae (Pflanzen)
Phylum same	Tracheophyta	Tracheophyta
Class same	Polypodiopsida (Echte Farne)	Polypodiopsida (Echte Farne)
Order same	Salviniales (Schwimmfarnartige)	Salviniales (Schwimmfarnartige)
Family same	Marsileaceae	Marsileaceae
Genus same	Marsilea	Marsilea
Species	Marsilea quadrifolia	Marsilea vestita

Evolutionary Relationship

Gewöhnlich-Kleefarn and hooked-pepperwort share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Marsilea.

Conservation Status

Gewöhnlich-Kleefarn

NE — Not Evaluated

hooked-pepperwort

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Gewöhnlich-Kleefarn	hooked-pepperwort
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Gewöhnlich-Kleefarn

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (India, Vietnam), Europe (5 countries), and North America (Canada, United States).

hooked-pepperwort

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, among 5 distinct biome types within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Distributed across Canada and Cuba. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Gewöhnlich-Kleefarn

<em>Marsilea quadrifolia</em>, commonly known as the common water clover or European waterclover, is an aquatic fern in the family Marsileaceae. Its conservation status is listed as Not Evaluated by the IUCN. The species has a broad native distribution spanning Asia and Europe, and has been introduced to North America, where it now occurs in scattered freshwater habitats. It typically grows in shallow ponds, rice paddies, slow-moving streams, and muddy lake margins, rooting in soft sediments while its four-leaflet fronds float on or emerge above the water surface. The distinctive four-lobed leaves strongly resemble a four-leaf clover, lending the plant its common name. <em>Marsilea quadrifolia</em> is a heterosporous fern, producing specialized reproductive structures called sporocarps that contain both megaspores and microspores, allowing reproduction under conditions unfavorable for vegetative growth. The plant is remarkably drought-tolerant, as sporocarps can remain viable for decades. It typically spreads through both vegetative rhizome growth and spore dispersal. Biological traits including average lifespan, height, and mass remain poorly documented in standardized databases. The species plays a role in shallow aquatic ecosystems as a colonizing plant, stabilizing soft substrates and providing microhabitat for invertebrates and small vertebrates in the temperate freshwater zones it inhabits.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇨🇦 Canada