''Stuckenia pectinata'' ( syn. ''Potamogeton pectinatus''), commonly called sago pondweed or fennel pondweed, and sometimes called ribbon weed, is a

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

water plant species that grows in fresh and brackish water on all continents except

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

Description

''Stuckenia pectinata'' is a fully submerged aquatic plant and does not have any floating or emerged leaves. The flowers are wind pollinated and the seeds float.

Tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...

s that are rich in starch are formed on the rhizomes. Reproduction can either be vegetative with tubers and plant fragments or sexual with seeds.

Wildlife

The whole plant provides food for different species of waterbirds.

Description

Image:PotamogetonPectinatus2.jpg, Leaves with the typical zigzag-formed stem Image:Tubers.jpg, Tubers ''Stuckenia pectinata'' has long narrow linear leaves which are less than 2 mm wide; each is composed of two slender, parallel tubes. The main difference from other narrow-leaved pondweeds is that the

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

joins the leaf base, when it is pulled the sheath and stipule comes away, similar to a grass sheath and ligule. The fruits are 3 to 5 mm long.

Ecology

The nutritious tubers are an important food source for waterfowl, including the

canvasback The canvasback (''Aythya valisineria'') is a species of diving duck, the largest found in North America. Taxonomy Scottish-American naturalist Alexander Wilson described the canvasback in 1814. The genus name is derived from Greek ''aithuia'', ...

, which help disperse the plant. The plant can become a nuisance

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

in waterways such as canals, because it is tolerant to

eutrophication Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytopla ...

Gallery

File:Stuckenia_pectinata_070830_Vladivostok.jpg

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Stuckenia pectinata''
Potamogetonaceae Flora of Asia Flora of Africa Flora of North America Flora of Central America Flora of South America Flora of Europe Aquatic plants {{monocot-stub