Plant
Identification
Pickerelweed
 Description Management
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Photos
Pontederia
cordata
Pickerelweed is a perennial
plant that can grow up to 3 1/2 feet tall. Leaves are shiny green,
heart-to-lance shaped(up to 7 inches long) singly attached to a long
petiole which grow in a rosette from the roots. Each stem can produce
a terminal flower spike 3 to 4 inches long. The numerous tubular flowers
on the spike are violet-blue in color. Each flower lasts only one day.
Pickerelweed reproduces from seeds and rhizomes.
Submerged portions of
all aquatic plants provide habitats for many micro and macro
invertebrates. These invertebrates in turn are used as food by
fish and other wildlife species (e.g. amphibians, reptiles, ducks,
etc). After aquatic plants die, their decomposition by bacteria
and fungi provides food (called "detritus") for many aquatic invertebrates.
Ducks will consume the seeds of pickerelweed while muskrats and nutria
will consume the rhizomes and base.
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" indicates Non-Native plants.