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• Dichotomous Key
• Pontederiaceae
• Pontederia
• Pontederia cordata

Pontederia cordata — pickerelweed

Facts

Pickerelweed is a common aquatic plant throughout New England. Its leaves are rather variable, but it is easily recognized by the large, dense inflorescence of blue-purple (occasionally white) flowers. The large, edible seeds are eaten by ducks, while deer and muskrat browse on the foliage.

Habitat

Lacustrine (in lakes or ponds), riverine (in rivers or streams)

Characteristics

• Clonal plantlets

  Axillary bulblets

  there are no bulblets being produced in axils

• Flowers

  Anther color

  the anthers show no hint of a pink, reddish or purplish tint

  Bulblets replace flowers

  there are no bulblets where the flowers are located

  Carpels fused

  the carpels are fused (the number of carpels equals the number of locules)

  Filament surface

  the filament surface has rough hairs or scales on it

  Flower bract length

  0 mm

  Flower bracts

  there are no bracts associated with the flower

  Flower number

  At least 50

  Flower petal color

  • blue to purple
  • white

  Flower petal length

  8–17 mm

  Flower shape

  the flower has a funnel-shaped corolla tube

  Flower symmetry

  there is only one way to evenly divide the flower (the flower is bilaterally symmetrical)

  Form of style

  the style is lobed at the tip, and unbranched

  Fringed petal edges

  the petals are not fringed

  Inflorescence hair glands

  at least some of the hairs on the axis of the inflorescence have glands

  Inflorescence length

  20–150 mm

  Inflorescence type

  the inflorescence is a spike (a long unbranched stem with flowers along it that lack stalks)

  Marks on petals

  there are no noticeable marks on the petals

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of carpels

  3

  Number of pistils

  1

  Number of sepals and/or petals

  there are six petals, sepals or tepals in the flower

  Number of styles

  1

  Ovary position

  the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Petal and sepal arrangement

  the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures

  Petal appearance

  the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

  Petal fusion

  the perianth parts are fused to form a tube, cup, or bell shape

  Petal hairs on inner/upper surface

  there are hairs on the inner/upper petal surface

  Petal nectaries

  there are nectaries at the petal bases

  Sepal appearance

  the sepals resemble petals in color and texture

  Sepal length

  7–10 mm

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  the sepals are fused to each other (often along with the petals in monocots), at least near their bases

  Spathe

  the plant has a spathe surrounding the flower spike

  Spathe form

  NA

  Spathe length

  50–170 mm

  Stamen length

  1.5–13 mm

  Stamen number

  6

  Stamen position relative to petals

  NA

  Stamen types

  the stamens within a cycle are distinctly of two types

  Stamens fused outwards

  the stamens are fused to the petals or tepals at or near their bases

  Style petal-like

  the style is not broad and flattened like a petal

  Tepals

  the petals and sepals are similar in size and color

• Fruits or seeds

  Berry color

  NA

  Capsule ridges

  NA

  Fruit compartments

  there are three locules in the fruit

  Fruit cross-section

  • the fruit is at least somewhat flattened
  • the fruit is round in cross-section

  Fruit length

  4–6 mm

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe

  Fruit type (specific)

  the fruit is an achene (dry, usually 1-seeded, does not separate or split open at maturity)

  Fruit width

  2–3 mm

  Other markings on berry

  NA

• Glands or sap

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

• Growth form

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Root septa

  the roots have transverse septa

  Underground organs

  the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)

• Leaves

  Leaf arrangement

  • alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem
  • basal: the leaves are growing only at the base of the plant

  Leaf blade basal lobes

  the leaf blades are lobed at their bases

  Leaf blade base

  • the leaf has a distinct leaf stalk (petiole)
  • the leaf has no stalk

  Leaf blade base shape

  • The base of the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped, with rounded lobes) or sagittate (arrow-shaped, with pointed, backward-facing lobes)
  • the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
  • the base of the leaf blade is rounded

  Leaf blade cross-section

  the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section

  Leaf blade faces

  both surfaces of the leaf blade are exposed

  Leaf blade form

  Fully-formed (i.e., expanded), +/- green leaf blades are found somewhere on the plant

  Leaf blade length

  60–220 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped with backward-facing rounded lobes), or sagittate (arrow-shaped with backward-facing pointed lobes)
  • the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is linear (very narrow with more or less parallel sides)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color

  Leaf blade tip

  • the tip of the leaf blade is acuminate (tapers to a long, thin point)
  • the tip of the leaf blade is obtuse (bluntly pointed)

  Leaf blade veins

  the lateral veins are parallel or slightly arched in the direction of the tip

  Leaf blade width

  7–120 mm

  Leaf stalk length

  Up to 600 mm

  Leaf type

  the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

  Leaflet number

  0

  Stipule twining

  the stipules are not twining

  Stipules

  this plant has stipules

• Place

  Habitat

  aquatic

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • in lakes or ponds
  • in rivers or streams

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the leaves have no particular smell

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem growth form

  the flowering stem is held upright

  Flowering stem interior

  the flowering stem is solid

  Flowering stem leaves

  there is at least one fully-formed leaf on the flowering stem

  Stem hairs

  the stem is nearly or completely hairless

Wetland status

Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae