Potamogeton pusillus |
Potamogeton confervoides |
|||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
small pondweed |
alga pondweed, alga-like pondweed, potamot confervoide, Tuckerman's pondweed |
|||||||||
Rhizomes | absent. |
obvious. |
||||||||
Cauline stems | terete to slightly compressed, without spots, 18–150 cm; glands present on at least some nodes, green, gold, brown, or rarely white, to 0.5 mm diam. |
terete, without spots, 10–80 cm. |
||||||||
Turions | common, soft, lateral or terminal, 0.9–3.2 cm × 0.3–1.8 mm, soft; leaves ± 2-ranked; outer leaves 1–3 per side, base not corrugate, apex subulate to obtuse; inner leaves rolled into hardened fusiform structure. |
present, in axils of old leaves and from disintegrating branches, fusiform, 0.7–2 cm, leaves spreading to ascending. |
||||||||
Leaves | submersed, ± spirally arranged, sessile, delicate to coarse; stipules persistent, inconspicuous, connate or convolute, free from base of blade, brown to green or white, not ligulate, 0.31–0.92 cm, rarely appearing fibrous, not shredding at tip, apex obtuse; blade pale green to olive-green, rarely somewhat reddish, linear, not arcuate, 0.9–6.5 cm × 0.2–2.5 mm, base slightly tapering, without basal lobes, not clasping, margins entire, not crispate, apex not hoodlike, subulate to obtuse, lacunae absent or present, in 0–5 rows each side of midrib; veins 1–3(–5). |
submersed, ± spirally arranged, flaccid, sessile; stipules deliquescent, inconspicuous, convolute, free from blade, pale green, not ligulate, 0.5–1.2 cm, not fibrous, not shredding at tip, apex obtuse; blade pale green, linear, not arcuate, 1.8–6.5 cm × 0.1–0.5 mm, base slightly tapering, without basal lobes, not clasping, margins entire, not crispate, apex not hoodlike, extremely attenuate, bristly, lacunae present, each side of midvein to margins; veins 1. |
||||||||
Inflorescences | unbranched, submersed or emersed; peduncles not dimorphic, axillary or terminal, erect, rarely recurved, filiform to slightly clavate, 0.5–6.2(–6.6) cm; spikes not dimorphic, capitate to cylindric, 1.5–10.1 mm. |
unbranched, emersed; peduncles not dimorphic, terminal, ascending, somewhat clavate, (3–)5–25 cm; spikes not dimorphic, capitate, 5–12 mm. |
||||||||
Fruits | sessile, green to brown, ovoid to obovoid, turgid to concave, not abaxially or laterally keeled, 1.5–2.2 × 1.2–1.6 mm; beak erect, 0.1–0.6; sides without basal tubercles; embryo with less than 1 full spiral. |
sessile, light green, round-obovoid or nearly orbicular, compressed, abaxially and laterally keeled, 2–3 × 1.7–2.8 mm, lateral keels without sharp point; beak erect, 0.5 mm; sides without basal tubercles; embryo with less than 1 full spiral. |
||||||||
Chromosome number | apparently unknown not available. |
|||||||||
Potamogeton pusillus |
Potamogeton confervoides |
|||||||||
Phenology | Flowering early–late summer. | |||||||||
Habitat | Acidic waters of bogs, ponds, and lakes, often at higher elevation in e portion of range | |||||||||
Elevation | 0–1500 m [0–4900 ft] | |||||||||
Distribution |
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; nearly worldwide
|
CT; MA; ME; MI; NC; NH; NJ; NY; PA; RI; SC; VT; WI; NB; NL; NS; ON; QC; SPM; St Pierre
|
||||||||
Discussion | Three hybrids, Potamogeton perfoliatus × P. pusillus (= P. × mysticus Morong), P. friesii × P. pusillus (= P. × pusilliformis Fisher [P. × intermedius Fischer]), and P. obtusifolius × P. pusillus (= P. × saxonicus Hagström), have been described. Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Potamogeton confervoides is most uncommon and found only in fairly acidic waters. It is easily recognized by its linear, bristly leaves and the unusually long peduncle that seems out of place on a plant with such fine leaves. The leaves are so fine that they almost appear as greenish colored hair in the water. When the plant is removed from the water, the leaves are extremely flaccid leaves and essentially collapse onto each other. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
||||||||
Key |
|
|||||||||
Source | FNA vol. 22. | FNA vol. 22. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | ||||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | P. tuckermanii | |||||||||
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 127. 1753 (as pusillum) | Reichenbach: in H. G. L. Reichenbach et al., Icones florae germanicae et helveticae 7: 13. (1845) | ||||||||
Web links |
|