Flora of North America species comparison

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Stuckenia

pondweed, potamot
Habit Herbs: rhizomes present; turions absent; tubers absent or present.
Stems

terete, nodes without oil glands.
Leaves

submersed, alternate, opaque, sessile, linear, channeled, turgid, acute at base acute, margins entire, apex obtuse to acute, veins 1–5;

stipules not tubular, adnate to base of leaf blades for 2/3 or more length of stipule, extending past adnation as free ligule.
Inflorescences

spikes, capitate or cylindric, submersed;

peduncles flexible, not projecting inflorescence above surface of water.
Flowers

pistils 4.
Fruits

abaxially rounded, beaked or not, turgid;

embryo with less than 1 full coil.
x

= 13.

Stuckenia
Distribution
from USDA
Nearly worldwide
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The stipules of Stuckenia are adnate to the blade for two-thirds to nearly the entire length of the stipule. The few species of Potamogeton with adnate stipules have the adnation less than half the length of the stipule, in fact, less than 4 mm. Submersed leaves of Potamogeton are translucent, flat, and without grooves or channels, whereas those of Stuckenia are opaque, channeled, and turgid.

A proposal to elevate Potamogeton subgenus. Coleogeton to the generic level, retaining the name Coleogeton, was presented (D. H. Les and R. R. Haynes 1996). Potamogeton pectinatus Linnaeus was chosen as the nomenclatural type. The name Stuckenia had been previously published, however, and P. pectinatus cited (C. Börner 1912), making the generic name Coleogeton superfluous. Stuckenia is the correct name, and the appropriate specific combinations have been made (J. Holub 1997).

Species ca. 6 (4 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaf apex acute, apiculate, cuspidate, rarely round; proximal stipular sheaths not inflated; stems abundantly branched, especially on distal portions; fruits distinctly beaked.
→ 2
1. Leaf apex notched, obtuse, or round, rarely apiculate; proximal stipular sheaths often inflated; stems sparsely branched on distal portions; fruits without beak.
→ 3
2. Leaves 0.4–1.5–3(–8.5) mm wide; leaf apex apiculate, cuspidate, or rarely round; plants from restricted range in western United States.
S. striata
2. Leaves 0.2–1 mm wide; leaf apex acute to mucronate or apiculate; widespread throughout United States and Canada.
S. pectinata
3. Stipules with distinct ligules to 20 mm, especially on distal stipules; summit of midstem stipules tight to stem, about the ± same width as stem; fruit 2–3 mm.
S. filiformis
3. Stipules without ligules or these to 2 mm on distal stipules; summit of midstem stipules inflated at least 2 times width of stem; fruit 3–3.8 mm.
S. vaginata
Source FNA vol. 22.
Parent taxa Potamogetonaceae
Subordinate taxa
S. filiformis, S. pectinata, S. striata, S. vaginata
Synonyms Coleogeton
Name authority Borner: Botanisch-systematische notizen., Abh. Naturwiss. Vereine Bremen 21: 258. (1912)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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