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Sago Pondweed

Stuckenia pectinata

Sago Pondweed Locations in North America
Sago Pondweed Locations in Southeast US
Sago pondweed drawing

Sago pondweed diagram
Up close sago pondweed

Sago pondweed flowers up close
sago pondweed flowers
clump of sago pondweed

USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 28 March 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
Illustration courtesy of University of Florida/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants. Used with permission.

What is Sago Pondweed?

Other common spellings and names include: sago-pondweed, fennel pondweed, fennel-leaf pondweed, comb pondweed, ribbon weed, and sago false pondweed.

Physical Characteristics

Leaves:

  • All submersed
  • Alternate
  • Thinly linear or threadlike
  • Up to 6 inches long and 0.05 inches wide
  • Strong cross veins

Small Leaves:

  • 0.078-2 inches long
  • At the base of normal leaf
  • Greenish or whitish

Flowers:

  • 4 petals and sepals
  • Nearly immobile
  • Greenish in color
  • Oval- to elliptical- shaped
  • 0.05-0.09 inches wide

Fruit:

  • Fleshy
  • Narrow base
  • Rounded on top side
  • 0.09-0.16 inches long
  • 0.08-0.13 inches wide

Stem:

  • Horizontal stem branching
  • Slightly compressed
  • Light green to almost white
  • About 0.05 inches in diameter
  • Simple near base
  • Abundantly branched near top

Where Does it Grow?

Sago pondweed can be found in alkaline, brackish, or saline water of ponds, quiet rivers, lakes, marshes, and ocean shores. They often occur in great masses.

Pros and Cons of Sago Pondweed

Sago pondweed is an excellent food for waterfowl, especially canvas backs, which eat both the fruits and the tubers. 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.

How to Manage This Plant
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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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