Potamogeton pusillus |
Potamogeton epihydrus |
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small pondweed |
Nuttall's ribbon-leaf pondweed, potamot emerge, ribbon-leaf pondweed |
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Rhizomes | absent. |
present. |
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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. |
flattened, without spots, 10–90 cm; glands absent. |
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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. |
absent. |
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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). |
both submersed and floating or floating absent, ± spirally arranged. |
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Floating leaves | petiolate; petioles continuous in color to apex, 2–12.5 cm; blade adaxially light green, narrowly oblong-oblanceolate to elliptic, 2–8 cm × 4–20 mm, base acute, apex rounded or bluntly cuspidate; veins 11–41. |
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Submersed leaves | sessile, lax; stipules persistent, inconspicuous, convolute, free from blade, red-brown, not ligulate, 1–3 cm, not fibrous, not shredding at tip, apex obtuse; blade red-brown to light green, linear, not arcuate, 5–22 cm × 1–10 mm, base not clasping, without basal lobes, margins entire, not crispate, apex not hoodlike, blunt to acute, lacunae present, broad band each side of midvein; veins 3–13. |
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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, axillary, erect, cylindric, 1.5–5(–16) cm; spikes not dimorphic, cylindric, 0.8–4 cm. |
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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, greenish brown, round-obovoid, flattened, abaxially and laterally keeled, 2.5–4.5 × 2–3.6 mm, lateral keels without sharp points; beak erect, 0.5 mm; sides without basal tubercles; embryo with less than 1 full spiral. |
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2n | = 26. |
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Potamogeton pusillus |
Potamogeton epihydrus |
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Phenology | Flowering summer–fall. | |||||||||
Habitat | Still or flowing waters of lakes, ponds, streams, and rivers | |||||||||
Elevation | 10–1900 m [30–6200 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
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AK; AL; CA; CO; CT; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IN; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MS; MT; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK; SPM; Europe
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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.) |
No specimens have been seen from Maryland, but the species is to be expected there. Two varieties, Potamogeton epihydrus var. epihydrus and var. ramosus, have been recognized. These prove not to be distinct. Both varieties often grow in the same body of water in the same population. The wider-leaved plants often occur in more alkaline waters. Two hybrids, P. epihydrus var. nuttallii × P. gramineus and P. epihydrus × P. nodosus (= P. ×subsessilis Hagström), have been described. Potamogeton epihydrus is a common species of lakes and streams of northern United States and southern Canada. It extends southward in the eastern United States to Louisiana and Alabama. Potamogeton epihydrus is one of our more easily recognized species: it has floating leaves, linear submersed leaves, and fruits with an embryo with one full spiral or less. The only other North American pondweed with a similar set of characteristics is P. tennesseensis, which differs from P. epihydrus by the former having long tapering apices in the submersed leaves whereas the latter has blunt to acute apices. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 22. | FNA vol. 22. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | ||||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | P. epihydrus subsp. nuttallii, P. epihydrus var. ramosus | |||||||||
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 127. 1753 (as pusillum) | Rafinesque: Medical Repository 5: 354. 1808, hexade hexade 2; 3; 2:409. (1811) | ||||||||
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