Brasenia

Brasenia exhibits wind pollination. The flowers have a two-day blooming period. On the first day, the functionally female, or pistillate flower, extends above the surface of the water and exposes the receptive stigmas. The flower then recedes below the water surface and on the following day emerges as a functionally male, or staminate flower. It is elevated higher than on the previous day and the anther-bearing filaments are extended beyond the female carpels. The anthers dehisce, releasing the pollen, and the flower is then withdrawn below the water where the fruit develops. ==Cytology==

The chloroplast genome is 158951 base pairs (bp) long. The mitochondrial genome is composed of six parts ranging from 110220 bp to 628257 bp in size. The complete mitogenome is 1.49 mega–base-pair (Mb) long. The nuclear genome is 1170.4 Mb long. == Uses ==

Brasenia is cultivated as a vegetable in China (where it is known as chúncài ) and where it is used in Hangzhou in the well-known local speciality "West Lake Water Shield Soup" and in Japan. The mucilage it produces has been found to have anti-algal and anti-bacterial properties that may be useful as a natural weed control. == History ==

Species of Brasenia occurred during the interglacial of Europe, but like many other aquatic plant species and genera, it does not occur there now. == Name ==

Brasenia schreberi has the common name watershield. ==Conservation==

It is classified as least concern (LC) by The IUCN Red List. The NatureServe conservation status is G5 Secure. == See also ==