Stuckenia pectinata — Sago false pondweed
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Facts
The tubers of sago false pondweed are an important food source for water fowl. In a study of sago false pondweed tuber grazing by Bewick's swans, surviving tubers in heavily-grazed populations were buried on average significantly deeper in bottom sediments than tubers in ungrazed stands.
Habitat
Lacustrine (in lakes or ponds), riverine (in rivers or streams)
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
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enlargeCharacteristics
- Habitat
- aquatic
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Leaf position
- the leaves are all submerged underwater
- Leaf arrangement
- alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Leaf blade length
- 56–92 mm
- Petal or sepal number
- there are four petals, sepals, or tepals in the flower
- Specific leaf type
- the leaf is not divided, rather the blade is made up of one segment
- Floating leaf shape
- NA
- Underwater leaf blade width
- 0.2–1 mm
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is fleshy
- Underwater leaf length
- 56–92 mm
-
Clonal plantlets
- Turion length
- 0 mm
-
Flowers
- Anther length
- 0.5–1 mm
- Carpels fused
- the carpel is solitary or (if 2 or more) the carpels are not fused to one another
- Flower lower lip length
- 0 mm
- Flower position
- the flowers are below the surface of the water
- Flower symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence length
- 14–22 mm
- Inflorescence type
- the inflorescence is a spike (a long unbranched stem with flowers along it that lack stalks)
- Length of flower stalk
- At least 0 mm
- Length of peduncle
- 45–114 mm
- Nectar spur
- the flower has no nectar spurs
- Number of carpels
- 4
- Ovary position
- the sepals and/or petals are attached below the ovary
- Palate on corolla
- no
- Petal and sepal arrangement
- the flower includes only one cycle of petals or sepals
- Petal appearance
- the petals are green and/or leafy in texture
- Petal fringed edges
- the petals are not fringed
- Petal fusion
- the perianth parts are separate
- Petal hairs on inner/upper surface
- there are no hairs on the inner/upper petal surface
- Petal number
- 4
- Petal or sepal number
- there are four petals, sepals, or tepals in the flower
- Pistil number
- 4
- Sepal appearance
- NA
- Sepal length
- 0 mm
- Sepal number
- 0
- Sepals fused only to sepals
- NA
- Spur length
- 0 mm
- Stamen number
-
- 1 or 2
- 4
- Stamen position relative to petals
- NA
- Stamens fused to petals
- the stamens are fused near the bases of the petals or tepals
- Style number
- 4
-
Fruits or seeds
- Fruit beak length
- 0.5–1.1 mm
- Fruit length
- 3–4.5 mm
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is fleshy
- Fruit type (specific)
-
- the fruit is a drupe (fleshy, with a firm inner ovary wall that encloses a single seed)
- the fruit is an achene (dry, usually 1-seeded, does not separate or split open at maturity)
- Fruit width
- 2.5–3.1 mm
-
Glands or sap
- Oil glands on nodes
- none of the nodes have oil glands
- Sap
- the sap is clear and watery
-
Growth form
- Lifespan
- the plant lives more than two years
- Root septa
- the roots do not have transverse septa
- Roots floating in water
- there are no clusters of roots floating in the water
- Turions
- there are no turions on the plant
- Underground organs
-
- the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)
- the plant has one or more swollen storage organs underground, such as bulbs, tubers or corms
-
Leaves
- Bract position (Sparganium)
- NA
- Bract relative length
- At least 3854 mm
- Bracts
- neither the flowers nor their pedicels have bracts
- Floating leaf basal lobes
- NA
- Floating leaf blade width
- 0 mm
- Floating leaf length
- 0 mm
- Floating leaf shape
- NA
- Floating leaf tip
- NA
- Floral bract form
- NA
- Floral bract length
- 0 mm
- Leaf arrangement
- alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Leaf blade length
- 56–92 mm
- Leaf blade veins
- the lateral veins are parallel or slightly arched in the direction of the tip
- Leaf blade width
- 0.2–1 mm
- Leaf position
- the leaves are all submerged underwater
- Leaf special features
- none of the mentioned special features are present
- Leaf-like branch segments
- 0
- Leaf-like branch shape
- the leaf-like branches are round
- Specific leaf type
- the leaf is not divided, rather the blade is made up of one segment
- Staminate bract edge (Myriophyllum)
- NA
- Stipule appearance
- the stipules are firm or fibrous, and colored white, green or brown
- Stipule fused to leaf
- the stipules are attached to the leaf blade for some part of their length
- Stipules
- the plant has stipules
- Stipules fused around stem
- the stipules do not forma closed tube around the stem
- Trap-bladder length
- 0 mm
- Underwater leaf air passage number
- At least 1440
- Underwater leaf blade edges
- the underwater leaf has smooth edges, without teeth
- Underwater leaf blade shape
- the underwater leaf blade is linear (very narrow with more or less parallel sides)
- Underwater leaf blade veins
- 1–3
- Underwater leaf blade width
- 0.2–1 mm
- Underwater leaf length
- 56–92 mm
- Underwater leaf stalk
- no
- Underwater leaf stalk length
- 0 mm
- Underwater leaf tip shape
-
- the tip of the underwater leaf is acute (sharply pointed)
- the tip of the underwater leaf is caudate (has a very long tail-like projection ending in a point)
- Veins in floating leaf
- 0
-
Place
- Habitat
- aquatic
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- in lakes or ponds
- in rivers or streams
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Flowering stem growth form
- the flowering stem trails along the substrate, or floats in the water
Wetland status
Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- present
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- present
- Rhode Island
- present
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Massachusetts
- fairly widespread (S-rank: S4)
- New Hampshire
- extremely rare (S-rank: S1), endangered (code: E)
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
2. Stuckenia pectinata (L.) Boerner N
Sago false pondweed. Coleogeton pectinatus (L.) D.H. Les & Haynes; Potamogeton pectinatus L. • CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT. Shallow, still or slow-moving, circumneutral to basic water of lakes and rivers. Identification of species of Stuckenia in North America have relied too heavily on leaf blade apex shape (Kaplan 2008). Leaf sheath morphology is the most important feature for distinguishing vegetative plants.
Native to North America?
Yes
Sometimes confused with
- Stuckenia filiformis:
- stipular sheaths closed, leaf blades commonly blunt to obtuse at the apex, sometimes retuse, rarely apiculate, and drupes 2–3 mm long, beakless (vs. S. pectinata, with stipular sheaths open with overlapping edges, leaf blades commonly acute at the apex, with an apiculus on young plants, and drupes 3–4.5 mm long, with a tiny beak).
Synonyms
- Coleogeton pectinatus (L.) D.H. Les & Haynes
- Potamogeton borealis Raf.
- Potamogeton filiformis Pers. var. borealis (Raf.) St. John
- Potamogeton pectinatus L.