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Leafy Pondweed

Potamogeton foliosus

Leafy pondweed
Leafy Pondweed


Robert H. Mohlenbrock, hosted by the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. 1995. Northeast wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. Northeast National Technical Center, Chester.
Illustration: USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. Vol. 1: 82.

What is Leafy Pondweed?

Physical Characteristics

Leaves:

  • Alternate to whorled
  • All submersed
  • Linear
  • Thin
  • Smooth edged
  • Green to bronze in color
  • Up to 3.94 inches long
  • Up to 0.11 inches wide

Little Leaves:

  • Located at base of leaf stalk
  • 0.28-0.71 inches long

Fruit:

  • Disk shaped
  • Fleshy
  • Flat
  • Olive to brown in color
  • 0.08-0.09 inches across
  • Fruits from May to October

Flower:

  • 4 to 6 in clusters
  • Brown in color

Stem:

  • Up to 2.5 feet long
  • Branching rhizomes
  • Rooting at nodes
  • Branching at top
  • Thread-like

Where Does it Grow?


USDA, NRCS. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.

Leafy pondweed can be found in brackish water but is more common in freshwater lakes, farm ponds, slow-moving streams and irrigation ditches.

Pros and Cons of Leafy Pondweed

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.). Leaves are eaten by turtles, while both leaves and seeds are eaten by waterfowl. After aquatic plants die, their decomposition by bacteria and fungi provides food (called “detritus”) for many aquatic invertebrates.

Leafy pondweed is a perennial but most leaves will die off in colder months, while rhizomes survive in the sediment.

How to Manage This Plant
Plant Glossary

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Photo Credits: The majority of the aquatic plant line drawings are the copyright of the University of Florida Center for Aquatic Plants (Gainsville). They are used with permission.

Aquatic plant photographs were provided by David Bayne, Jim Davis, Kelly Duffie, Billy Higginbotham, Michael Masser, John Clayton, Chetta Owens, Diane Smith, Joe Snow, Don Steinbach, Bridget Robinson Lassiter and Peter Woods.

You may use these photos, so long as you give credit to AquaPlant.

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