''Pontederia'' is a genus of
tristylous aquatic plant
Aquatic plants, also referred to as hydrophytes, are vascular plants and Non-vascular plant, non-vascular plants that have adapted to live in aquatic ecosystem, aquatic environments (marine ecosystem, saltwater or freshwater ecosystem, freshwater ...
s, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. ''Pontederia'' is endemic to the
Americas
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
, distributed from
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
to
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, where it is found in shallow water or on mud. The genus was named by
Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
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
rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...
s that allow rapid colonization by
vegetative reproduction
Vegetative reproduction (also known as vegetative propagation, vegetative multiplication or cloning) is a form of asexual reproduction occurring in plants in which a new plant grows from a fragment or cutting of the parent plant or specializ ...
. Species are
perennial
In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...
, and produce a large spike of flowers in the summer. There is a species of bee (''
Dufourea novaeangliae'') that exclusively visits ''Pontederia cordata'';
waterfowl
Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...
also eat the fruit of the plant.
''
Pontederia cordata'' and ''
Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly known as ''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 in
constructed wetland
A constructed wetland is an artificial wetland to treat sewage, greywater, stormwater runoff or Industrial wastewater treatment, industrial wastewater. It may also be designed for land reclamation after mining, or as a Flood mitigation, mitigatio ...
s.
Species
,
Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
History
Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...
accepted the following species:
* ''
Pontederia africana''
(Solms) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn
* ''
Pontederia australasica''
(Ridl.) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn
* ''
Pontederia azurea''
Sw.
* ''
Pontederia brevipetiolata''
(Verdc.) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn
* ''
Pontederia cordata''
L.
* ''
Pontederia crassipes''
Mart.
* ''
Pontederia cyanea''
(F.Muell.) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn
* ''
Pontederia diversifolia''
(Vahl) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn
* ''
Pontederia elata''
(Ridl.) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn
* ''
Pontederia gigantea''
D.J.Sousa
* ''
Pontederia hastata''
L.
* ''
Pontederia heterosperma''
(Alexander) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn
* ''
Pontederia korsakowii''
(Regel & Maack) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn
* ''
Pontederia meyeri''
(A.G.Schulz) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn
* ''
Pontederia natans''
P.Beauv.
* ''
Pontederia ovalis''
Mart. ex Schult. & Schult.f.
* ''
Pontederia paniculata''
Spreng.
* ''
Pontederia paradoxa''
Mart. ex Schult. & Schult.f.
* ''
Pontederia parviflora''
Alexander
* ''
Pontederia plantaginea''
Roxb.
* ''
Pontederia reflexa''
D.J.Sousa
* ''
Pontederia rotundifolia''
L.f.
* ''
Pontederia sagittata''
C.Presl
* ''
Pontederia subovata''
(Seub.) Lowden
* ''
Pontederia triflora''
(Seub.) G.Agostini, D.Velázquez & J.Velásquez
* ''
Pontederia vaginalis''
Burm.f.
* ''
Pontederia valida''
(G.X.Wang & Nagam.) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn
References
External links
Google Books - Creating Freshwater Wetlands by Donald A. Hammer*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2407184
Pontederiaceae
Commelinales genera
Aquatic plants
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus