American Pondweed

Other Common Names: long leaf pondweed

(Potamogeton nodosus)

Native

American Pondweed has elliptical shaped floating leaves that are green and often have brown spots.

Description

The floating leaves of American pondweed are green, often with brown spots and yellowish lines. They are elliptical shaped, leathery, four and a quarter inches long, nearly two inches wide, and on long leaf stalks. Submersed leaves are thin, oval, eight inches long, and grow to nearly one and a half inches wide. The greenish brown flower spike rises above the water; each flower is oval or elliptical shaped. American pondweed stems are thin, five to eight-hundredths of an inch in diameter, often flat, and they branch out. The rhizomes are white with rusty red spots.

 

Illinois pondweed and floating leaf pondweed have similar floating leaves to American pondweed, but the long leaf stalks separate it from the others. Flowing waters are more likely to contain American pondweed than lakes. Ducks and geese eat the tiny fruits of this pondweed and animals such as deer, moose, and muskrats eat other parts of the plant. Fish and other aquatic creatures live among this plant and forage for food around it.

Location

American pondweed can be found across the United States.

Propagation

roots, seeds