''Pontederia'' is a genus of tristylous

aquatic plant Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...

s, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. ''Pontederia'' is endemic to the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, distributed from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, where it is found in shallow water or on mud. The genus was named by

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in honour of the Italian botanist Giulio Pontedera. ''Pontederia'' plants have large waxy leaves, succulent stems and a thick pad of fibrous roots. The roots give rise to

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s that allow rapid colonization by

vegetative reproduction Vegetative reproduction (also known as vegetative propagation, vegetative multiplication or cloning) is any form of asexual reproduction occurring in plants in which a new plant grows from a fragment or cutting of the parent plant or spec ...

. Species are

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

, and produce a large spike of flowers in the summer. There is a species of bee ('' Dufourea novaeangliae'') that exclusively visits ''Pontederia cordata'';

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...

also eat the fruit of the plant. ''

Pontederia cordata ''Pontederia cordata'', common name pickerelweed (USA) or pickerel weed ( UK), is a monocotyledonous aquatic plant native to the American continents. It grows in a variety of wetlands, including pond and lake margins across an extremely large ...

'' and '' Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly known as ''

Eichhornia crassipes ''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive species, invasive outside its native range ...

''), have become invasive in many tropical and temperate parts of the globe, but are, on the other hand, efficient biological filters of polluted water in

constructed wetland A constructed wetland is an artificial wetland to treat sewage, greywater, stormwater runoff or industrial wastewater. It may also be designed for land reclamation after mining, or as a mitigation step for natural areas lost to land development. ...

Species

''Pontederia'' includes the following 25 accepted species: * '' Pontederia africana'' (Solms) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn * ''

Pontederia australasica ''Pontederia'' is a genus of heterostyly, tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. ''Pontederia'' is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on m ...

'' (Ridl.) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn * ''

Pontederia azurea ''Pontederia azurea'' is a water hyacinth from the Americas, sometimes known as anchored water hyacinth. It is the type species of ''Pontederia'' subg. ''Eichhornia'', which was previously recognized as part of the polyphyletic genus Eichhornia. ...

'' Sw. * ''

Pontederia brevipetiolata ''Pontederia'' is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. ''Pontederia'' is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud. The genu ...

'' (Verdc.) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn * ''

'' L. * '' Pontederia crassipes'' Mart. * ''

Pontederia cyanea ''Pontederia'' is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. ''Pontederia'' is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud. The genu ...

'' (F.Muell.) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn * ''

Pontederia diversifolia ''Pontederia'' is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. ''Pontederia'' is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud. The genu ...

'' (Vahl) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn * ''

Pontederia elata ''Pontederia'' is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. ''Pontederia'' is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud. The genu ...

'' (Ridl.) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn * ''

Pontederia hastata ''Pontederia'' is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. ''Pontederia'' is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud. The genu ...

'' L. * ''

Pontederia heterosperma ''Pontederia'' is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. ''Pontederia'' is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud. The genu ...

'' (Alexander) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn * ''

Pontederia korsakowii ''Pontederia'' is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. ''Pontederia'' is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud. The genu ...

'' (Regel & Maack) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn * ''

Pontederia meyeri ''Pontederia'' is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. ''Pontederia'' is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud. The genu ...

'' (A.G.Schulz) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn * ''

Pontederia natans ''Pontederia'' is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. ''Pontederia'' is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud. The genu ...

'' P.Beauv. * ''

Pontederia ovalis ''Pontederia'' is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. ''Pontederia'' is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud. The genu ...

'' Mart. ex Schult. & Schult.f. * '' Pontederia paniculata'' Spreng. * '' Pontederia paradoxa'' Mart. ex Schult. & Schult.f. * '' Pontederia parviflora'' Alexander * '' Pontederia plantaginea'' Roxb. * '' Pontederia rotundifolia'' L.f. * ''

Pontederia sagittata ''Pontederia sagittata'' is a species of aquatic plant belonging to the family Pontederiaceae. Description It is a perennial plant with erect, Rhizome, rhizomatous tough stems. Basal leaves, emerging; Pod (fruit), pods 10–27 cm, the apex e ...

'' C.Presl * '' Pontederia subovata'' (Seub.) Lowden * '' Pontederia triflora'' (Seub.) G.Agostini, D.Velázquez & J.Velásquez * ''

Pontederia vaginalis ''Monochoria vaginalis'' is a species of flowering plant in the water hyacinth family known by several common names, including heartshape false pickerelweed and oval-leafed pondweed. It is native to much of Asia and across many of the Pacific I ...

'' Burm.f. * '' Pontederia valida'' (G.X.Wang & Nagam.) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn

References

External links

Google Books - Creating Freshwater Wetlands by Donald A. Hammer
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2407184 Pontederiaceae Commelinales genera Aquatic plants Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus