Author

Danielle Mack

Common Name(s)

pickerelweed

Electronic links

Flora North America on-line species description: http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=220010872

U.S.D.A. PLANTS Database species profile:

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=POCO14

Ecology

Pond and lake margins, ditches and swales; 0--500 m.

Family

Pontederiaceae, pickerel-weed family

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Flowering period

March to November in the South; season shorter farther north.

Flowers

Flowers with mauve to bluish, 2-lipped perianth; tube 3–9 mm; limb lobes oblanceolate, 5–8 mm, distal central lobe with 2-lobed yellow spot.

Stamens 6, proximal 7–13 mm long, distal 1.5–6.3 mm long.

Pistil of 3 fused carpels, ovary superior, 3-locular, only 1 developing to maturity; ovule 1; style 1,3 or more lobed.

Fruit

Fruit a utricule, 4–6 × 2–3 mm, ovoid, with spinulose, dentate or smooth longitudinal ridges. Seed 1, ovoid, smooth.

Geographic distribution

Canada: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontaria, Prince Edward Island, Quebec;

U.S.A.: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana., Maine, Maryland., Massachusetts , Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania., Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont., Virginia., West Virginia., Wisconsin;

Mexico; Central America (Belize); South America.

Leaves

Sessile leaves have linear blades. Petiolate leaves emersed; stipule 7–29 cm; petiole distinctly constricted just below blade, to 60 cm; blade lanceolate to cordate, 6–22 cm long 0.7–12 cm wide.

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Place of Species Publication

Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 208. 1753.

Plant and Stem Features

Plants perennial, rooted in mud. Vegetative stems contracted, rhizomatous. Flowering stems erect, to 120 cm.

References

Horn, C. N. 2002. Pontederia L. In. Flora North America Editorial Committee. Flora North America North of Mexico. vol. 26. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford. pg. 45-46.

Godfrey, R. K. and J. W. Wooten. 1979. Aquatic and Wetland Plants of the Southeastern United States, Monocotyledons. Univeristy of Georgia Press, Athens.

USDA, NRCS. 2007. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 10 May 2007). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA

Species name

Pontederia cordata Linnaeus

Species name and place of publication

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Synonyms

Narukila cordata (Linnaeus) Nieuwland

Pontederia angustifolia Pursh                                                                                               

Pontederia cordata var. lanceolata (Nuttall) Grisebach

Pontederia cordata L. var. angustifolia (Pursh) Torr. & Ell.

Pontederia cordata L. var. lanceolata (Nutt.) Griseb.

Pontederia cordata L. var. lancifolia (Muhl. ex Ell.) Torr.

Pontederia cordata var. lancifolia (Muhlenberg) Torrey

Pontederia lanceolata Nutt.

Pontederia lanceolata Nuttall

Pontederia lancifolia Muhlenberg

Unisema cordata (Linnaeus) Farwell

Wetland Indicator Status

OBL