Common Water Clover vs Lusitanian Water Clover

Marsilea quadrifolia compared with Marsilea batardae

Key Differences

• Common Water Clover is Not Evaluated while Lusitanian Water Clover is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Water Clover	Lusitanian Water Clover
Kingdom same	Plantae (tumbuhan)	Plantae (tumbuhan)
Phylum same	Tracheophyta	Tracheophyta
Class same	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)
Order same	Salviniales (Paku air)	Salviniales (Paku air)
Family same	Marsileaceae	Marsileaceae
Genus same	Marsilea	Marsilea
Species	Marsilea quadrifolia	Marsilea batardae

Evolutionary Relationship

Common Water Clover and Lusitanian Water Clover share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Marsilea.

Conservation Status

Common Water Clover

NE — Not Evaluated

Lusitanian Water Clover

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Water Clover	Lusitanian Water Clover
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Water Clover

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).

Lusitanian Water Clover

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Portugal. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Water Clover

<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:

🇵🇹 Portugal