''Hottonia inflata'', the American featherfoil or featherfoil, is an aquatic plant in the family

Primulaceae The Primulaceae , commonly known as the primrose family (but not related to the evening primrose family), are a family of herbaceous and woody flowering plants including some favourite garden plants and wildflowers. Most are perennial though som ...

Distribution

Featherfoil occurs sporadically in the eastern United States, from Texas to Maine, in the

coastal plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Co ...

s along the Atlantic and

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

Description

This aquatic wildflower has basal fibrous roots buried in the underlying mud, while thin, feather-like roots float freely in the water. The leaves are somewhat variable and can be submergent or floating. The leaves can be linear or filiform and arranged alternately, oppositely or whorled, with a pinnate or bipinnate division. Its flowers are small and white or violet in color and are located at the end of thickly inflated flower stalks.

Habitat

Featherfoil lives in swamps, ditches, and shallow ponds, including beaver ponds, with relatively stable water levels.

References

Primulaceae Aquatic plants Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of Texas {{Primulaceae-stub