''Stuckenia pectinata'' (
syn.
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.
* In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...
''Potamogeton pectinatus''), commonly called sago pondweed or fennel pondweed, and sometimes called ribbon weed, is a
cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Food and drink
* Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo"
History
* Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953
Hotels and resorts
* Cosmopoli ...
water plant species that grows in fresh and brackish water on all continents except
Antarctica.
Description
''Stuckenia pectinata'' is a fully submerged
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 ...
and does not have any floating or emerged leaves.
The flowers are wind pollinated and the seeds float.
Tubers that are rich in starch are formed on the rhizomes.
Reproduction
Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual or ...
can either be
vegetative
Vegetative describes vegetation. Vegetative may also refer to:
*Vegetative reproduction
Vegetative reproduction (also known as vegetative propagation, vegetative multiplication or cloning) is any form of asexual reproduction occurring in ...
with tubers and plant fragments or sexual with seeds.
Wildlife
The whole plant provides food for different species of waterbirds.
Description
Image:PotamogetonPectinatus2.jpg, Leaves with the typical zigzag-formed stem
Image:Tubers.jpg, Tubers
''Stuckenia pectinata'' has long narrow linear leaves which are less than 2 mm wide; each is composed of two slender, parallel tubes. The main difference from other narrow-leaved pondweeds is that the
stipule joins the leaf base, when it is pulled the sheath and stipule comes away, similar to a grass sheath and
ligule A ligule (from "strap", variant of ''lingula'', from ''lingua'' "tongue") is a thin outgrowth at the junction of leaf and leafstalk of many grasses (Poaceae) and sedges. A ligule is also a strap-shaped extension of the corolla, such as that of a ...
. The fruits are 3 to 5 mm long.
Ecology
The nutritious tubers are an important food source for waterfowl, including the
canvasback, which help
disperse the plant.
The plant can become a nuisance
weed in waterways such as canals, because it is tolerant to
eutrophication.
Gallery
File:Stuckenia_pectinata_070830_Vladivostok.jpg
References
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Stuckenia pectinata''
Potamogetonaceae
Flora of Asia
Flora of Africa
Flora of North America
Flora of Central America
Flora of South America
Flora of Europe
Aquatic plants
{{monocot-stub