Pontederia

taxobox
name = Pickerel weed

---

image_caption = "Pontederia cordata"
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Monocots
unranked_ordo = Commelinids
ordo = Commelinales
familia = Pontederiaceae
genus = "Pontederia"
genus_authority = L.
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = "Pontederia cordata" "Pontederia rotundifolia"|

"Pontederia" is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, commonly called the pickerel weeds. "Pontederia" is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud. The genus was named by Linnaeus in honour of the Italian botanist Giulio Pontedera.

"Pontederia" plants have large waxy leaves, succulent stems and a thick pad of fibrous roots. The roots give rise to rhizomes that allow rapid colonization by vegetative reproduction. Species are perennial, and produce a large spike of flowers in the summer. There is a species of bee ("Dufourea novae-angliae") that exclusively visits "Pontederia cordata"; waterfowl also eat the fruit of the plant.

"Pontederia cordata", and another member of the family, "Eichhornia crassipes", have become invasive in many tropical and temperate parts of the globe, but are, on the other hand, efficient biological filters of polluted water. [http://www.fao.org/agris/search/display.do;jsessionid=32667E500FF371AC5F0EF65616BCF48E?f=./2001/v2712/JP1998006920.xml;JP1998006920] in constructed wetlands.

External links

* [http://books.google.com/books?id=t9WDhaX__KYC&printsec=frontcover Google Books - Creating Freshwater Wetlands by Donald A. Hammer]