Potamogeton pusillus |
Potamogeton natans |
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small pondweed |
broad-leaf pondweed, floating pondweed, floating-leaf pondweed, potamot flottat |
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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. |
terete, often rust-spotted, 30–90 cm; nodal 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, ± spirally arranged. |
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Floating leaves | petioles lighter green immediately proximal to apex, 5.5–29 cm; blade adaxially light green, elliptic to ovate, 3.5–11 cm × 15–60 mm, base cordate, apex acute to rounded; veins 17–37. |
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Submersed leaves | sessile, rigid; stipules persistent, conspicuous, convolute, free from blade, whitish, not ligulate, 4.5–1 cm, fibrous, not shredding at tip, apex obtuse; blade light to dark green, phyllodial, not arcuate, 9–20 cm × 0.7–2.5 mm, base slightly tapering, without basal lobes, not clasping, margins entire, not crispate, apex not hoodlike, obtuse, lacunae absent; veins 3–5, obscure. |
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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, terminal, erect to ascending, cylindric, 4.5–9.5 cm; spikes not dimorphic, cylindric, 25–50 mm. |
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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, green to greenish brown, obovoid, turgid, not abaxially or laterally keeled, 3.5–5 × 2–3 mm; beak erect to apically recurved, 0.4–0.8 mm; sides without basal tubercles; embryo with 1 full spiral. |
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2n | = 52. |
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Potamogeton pusillus |
Potamogeton natans |
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Phenology | Flowering summer–fall. | |||||||||
Habitat | Quiet or slow-flowing waters of ponds, lakes, and streams | |||||||||
Elevation | 0–3100 m [0–10200 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; AZ; CA; CO; CT; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SD; UT; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Eurasia
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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.) |
Potamogeton natans is the common floating-leaved pondweed of the north temperate ure areas. It is essentially circumboreal and can easily be identified by floating leaves that are almost always cordate at the base of the blade, the petiole with a short band of light tissue at its apex, and the submersed phyllodial leaves. Also, the apex of the petiole usually is bent so that the blade appears oriented in the opposite direction from which the petiole appears to be oriented. One hybrid, Potamogeton natans × P. nodosus (= P. × schreberi Fischer [P. × perplexus A. Bennett]), has been described. (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 | ||||||||||
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 127. 1753 (as pusillum) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 126. (1753) | ||||||||
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