 thumb|right|germinating aldrovanda seeds aldrovanda vesiculosa, commonly known as the waterwheel plant, is the sole extant species in the flowering plant genus aldrovanda of the family droseraceae. the plant captures small aquatic invertebrates using traps similar to those of the venus flytrap. the traps are arranged in whorls around a central, free-floating stem, giving rise to the common name. this is one of the few plant species capable of rapid movement. while the genus aldrovanda is now monotypic, up to 19 extinct species are known in the fossil record.huber, h. 1961, aldrovanda, in hegi, illustrierte flora von mitteleuropa ed 2. iv(2a): 18-20. carl hanser verlag, mÃ¼nchen.degreef, j.d. 1997, fossil aldrovanda, carnivorous plant newsletter 26cross, a. 2012. aldrovanda, the waterwheel plant. redfern natural history productions, dorset, uk, 249pp while the species displays a degree of morphological plasticity between populations, a. vesiculosa possesses a very low genetic diversity across its entire range. a. vesiculosa has declined over the last century to only 50 confirmed extant populations worldwide. these are spread across europe, africa, asia and australia. == morphology == a. vesiculosa is a rootless aquatic plant; seedlings develop a short protoroot; however, this fails to develop further and senesces. the plant consists of floating stems reaching a length of 6â40&nbsp;cm.aston, h.i. 1983, aldrovanda vesiculosa l., in flora of australia 8: 64-66. the 2â3&nbsp;mm trap leaves grow in whorls of 5-9 in close succession along the plant's central stem. the actual traps are held by petioles which hold air sacks that aid in flotation. one end of the stem continua
Aquatic_plants Carnivorous_plants_of_Africa Carnivorous_plants_of_Asia Carnivorous_plants_of_Australia Carnivorous_plants_of_Europe Caryophyllales_of_Australia Droseraceae IUCN_Red_List_endangered_species Plants_described_in_1753