''Pontederia cordata'',

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

pickerelweed ( USA) or pickerel weed ( UK), is a monocotyledonous

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 ...

native to the American continents. It grows in a variety of

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

, including pond and lake margins across an extremely large range from eastern Canada south to Argentina. A few examples include northern rivers, the

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...

and Louisiana.

Ecology

The species grows as an emergent plant, that is, in flooded conditions, so the plant is generally dependent upon aerenchyma in the

stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

to carry oxygen into the roots. Its metabolism, is, however, also tolerant of low soil oxygen. It is often found in areas where water levels fluctuate naturally, with spring flooding and later summer emergence. Apart from flooding, the species is also influenced by soil fertility, tending to grow in the more fertile bays of large lakes, for example. Like many aquatic plants, it is negatively affected by salinity and grazing.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p It is also negatively affected by competition from other wetland plants. Like many wetland plants, it can survive unfavorable conditions as buried seeds in the soil.Whigham, Dennis F. and Robert L. Simpson. 1982. Germination and dormancy studies of Pontederia cordata L. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 109: 524–528.

Flowers

The plant flowers in late summer. The purple flowers have yellow markings which may assist in attracting bees for pollination. Two species known to pollinate the flowers are ''

Melissodes apicatus ''Melissodes'' is a genus of long-horned bees in the family Apidae. There are at least 140 described species in ''Melissodes''. ITIS Taxonomic note: *The gender of the name "Melissodes" has traditionally been considered as feminine by taxonomis ...

'' and ''

Dufourea novaeangliae ''Dufourea'' is a genus of sweat bees in the family Halictidae Halictidae is the second-largest family of bees (clade Anthophila) with nearly 4,500 species. Halictid species are an extremely diverse group that can vary greatly in appearance. ...

''.Hutchinson, G. E. (1975). A Treatise on Limnology, Vol. 3, Limnological Botany. New York: John Wiley. p.229. Once the plant begins to produce seeds, the stem supporting the inflorescence bends to submerge the fruits and seeds. Seeds are dormant at the time of dispersal and will not germinate without stratification for 6–8 weeks. The flowers of the species are tristylous, meaning the styles of individual plants occur in three different morphs, with most populations containing all three. Leaf shape, which varies considerably across populations, within populations, and even within individuals, has been the source for many taxonomic synonyms. Like many wetland and aquatic plants, the species can reproduce asexually by means of branching rhizomes, and hence can form large clonal stands. Pickerelweed, Rideau River

Cultivation

This plant is cultivated as an ornamental garden pond plant, and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Uses

The young leafstalks can be eaten raw (with the unripe fruits stripped off) or cooked. The seeds are edible raw, and can be ground into grain.

References

External links

PLANTS Profile for ''Pontederia cordata''''Pontederia cordata''
Natural Resources Canada

Flowers in Israel {{Taxonbar, from=Q621050 Aquatic plants Pontederiaceae Edible plants Flora of North America Flora of South America Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus