Pontederia cordata |
Pontederiaceae |
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langue du boeuf, pickerel-weed, pontédérie cordée |
pickerel-weed family |
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Habit | Plants perennial, rooted in mud. | Herbs, annual or perennial, aquatic, rooted in mud or free-floating. | ||||||||||||
Vegetative stems | contracted, rhizomatous. |
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Stems | of 2 types, vegetative and flowering; vegetative stems indeterminate, bearing many leaves, glabrous; flowering stems determinate, usually emersed, bearing single leaf, spathe, and terminal inflorescence. |
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Flowering stems | erect, to 120 cm. |
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Leaves | of 2 types, sessile and petiolate; stipule marcescent, apex truncate, associated with petiolate leaves only; sessile leaves submersed or rarely emersed, forming basal rosette or alternate on elongate stem, blade linear to occasionally oblanceolate, base sheathing, margins entire; petiolate leaves floating or emersed, blade cordate, reniform, or ovate. |
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Inflorescences | paniculate, spicate, umbellate, or 1-flowered; spathes bractlike, folded or clasping, commonly with acute to caudate extension. |
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Spikes | with up to several hundred flowers, 2–15 cm; spathes 5–17 cm. |
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Flowers | sessile, 3-merous; perianth with tepals connate proximally, yellow, blue, mauve, or white, tube tubular or funnelform, limb 6-lobed; stamens 3 or 6, adnate to perianth; pistils 3-locular, 1 or 3 developing to maturity; placentation parietal or basal; ovules 1–many. |
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Perianth | mauve, tube 3–9 mm, limb lobes oblanceolate, 5–8 mm, distal central lobe with 2-lobed yellow spot; proximal stamens 7–13 mm, distal 1.5–6.3 mm; style 3-lobed. |
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Fruits | capsular or utriculate. |
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Seeds | smooth or with longitudinal wings. |
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Sessile | leaves: blade linear. |
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Petiolate | leaves emersed; stipule 7–29 cm; petiole distinctly constricted just below blade, to 60 cm; blade lanceolate to cordate, 6–22 × 0.7–12 cm. |
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Utricles | with dentate ridges, 4–6 × 2–3 mm. |
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Pontederia cordata |
Pontederiaceae |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–Nov in Florida; flowering season shorter farther north. | |||||||||||||
Habitat | Pond and lake margins | |||||||||||||
Elevation | 0–500 m (0–1600 ft) | |||||||||||||
Distribution |
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC; Mexico; South America; Central America (Belize)
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Nearly worldwide; primarily of tropical and subtropical regions |
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Discussion | Pontederia cordata has a large number of synonyms, at the levels of species, variety, and form (see R. M. Lowden 1973 for most names). Almost all these names are based on variations in leaf shape, but extensive morphological variation has been observed within single populations and even in individual plants. Study is needed to determine the cause of the extreme leaf base forms of cuneate on lanceolate blades and cordate on ovate blades. Variation has also been observed in peduncle pubescence. A velutinous peduncle and ovate leaf blade with slightly cuneate base is consistently found among some South American populations, hence recognition there of var. ovalis (Martius) Solms. The reproductive biology of Pontederia cordata has been well studied (R. Ornduff 1966; S. D. Price and S. C. H. Barrett 1982, 1984). It is a tristylous species, and most populations contain all three morphs (S. D. Price and S. C. H. Barrett 1982). At least some degree of self-incompatibility exists, being strongest with the short-style morphs and weakest with the midstyle morphs (R. Ornduff 1966). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Genera 6, species ca. 30 (4 genera, 11 species in the flora; 2 genera, 3 species introduced). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 45. | FNA vol. 26, p. 37. | ||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Pontederiaceae > Pontederia | |||||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||||||
Synonyms | Narukila cordata, P. angustifolia, P. cordata var. lanceolata, P. cordata var. lancifolia, P. lanceolata, P. lancifolia, Unisema cordata | |||||||||||||
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 208. (1753) | Kunth | ||||||||||||
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