''Stuckenia pectinata'' (
syn. ''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
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
.
Description
''Stuckenia pectinata'' is a fully submerged
aquatic plant and does not have any floating or emerged leaves.
The flowers are wind pollinated and the seeds float.
Tuber
Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...
s that are rich in starch are formed on the rhizomes.
Reproduction can either be
vegetative 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
In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...
joins the leaf base, when it is pulled the sheath and stipule comes away, similar to a grass sheath and
ligule. The fruits are 3 to 5 mm long.
Ecology
The nutritious tubers are an important food source for waterfowl, including the
canvasback
The canvasback (''Aythya valisineria'') is a species of diving duck, the largest found in North America.
Taxonomy
Scottish-American naturalist Alexander Wilson described the canvasback in 1814. The genus name is derived from Greek ''aithuia'', ...
, which help
disperse the plant.
The plant can become a nuisance
weed
A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...
in waterways such as canals, because it is tolerant to
eutrophication
Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytopla ...
.
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