Potamogeton pusillus |
Potamogeton robbinsii |
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small pondweed |
fern pondweed, potamot de Robbins, Robbins' 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. |
terete, without spots, to 100 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). |
submersed, conspicuously 2-ranked, sessile, stiffish; stipules persistent, conspicuous, adnate to base of blade about ± ¼ length of stipule, connate, greenish brown to white, ligulate, 0.5–2 cm, fibrous, shredding at tip, apex obtuse; blade dark green to reddish green, linear to lanceolate, not arcuate, 2–7(–12) cm × 3–4(–8) mm, base rounded, with basal lobes, not clasping, margins minutely spinulose to serrulate, not crispate, apex not hoodlike, acute, lacunae absent; veins 20–60, fine. |
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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. |
often branched; peduncles not dimorphic, axillary, erect, cylindric, 3–5(–7) cm; spikes not dimorphic, moniliform (i.e., beaded), 7–20 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. |
stipitate, brown, obliquely obovoid, turgid, abaxially and laterally keeled, 3–4(–5) × 2(–3.3) mm, lateral keels without points; beak erect, recurved at apex, 0.7–0.9 mm; sides without basal tubercles; embryo with less than 1 full spiral. |
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2n | = 52. |
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Potamogeton pusillus |
Potamogeton robbinsii |
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Phenology | Flowering late summer–early fall. | |||||||||
Habitat | Shallow to deep water of ponds, lakes, and slow-flowing rivers | |||||||||
Elevation | 0–3000 m [0–9800 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; CT; ID; IL; IN; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; UT; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK
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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 robbinsii is our most easily recognized species when it is fertile. It is the only species with branched inflorescences. The species, however, occurs in fairly deep water, forming large colonies that essentially cover the substrate. Only rarely do the plants flower. It also is the only species with truly auriculate leaves, the blades forming small lobes projecting past the stem on each side of the stem. Leaf blades of other Potamogeton species may have slightly rounded bases, but no others have lobes that actually protrude past the stem. The species has a fairly large disjunction; primarily known from the northern part of the flora, it also occurs in the Tensas River area, Baldwin County, Alabama. The Alabama population has been collected on at least two occasions over 40 years, once as recently as 1970. (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) | Oakes: Magazine of horticulture, botany and all useful discoveries and improvements in rural affairs 7: 180. (1841) | ||||||||
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