Pickerelweed produces attractive spikes of blue-violet flowers, which is an unusual color for the flowers of an emergent aquatic plant. This species is related to the infamous Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), which clogs waterways in many areas of southeastern United States. The introduced Water Hyacinth has similar blue-violet flowers (although larger in size), but it has stubby leaves that float on water. The smaller Heteranthera spp. (Mud Plantains) are also related to Pickerelweed, but their flowers occur individually or in small clusters. Both Water Hyacinth and Mud Plantains have been found in wetlands of southern Illinois.

This native perennial plant is about 1-3' tall, consisting of a loose clump of basal leaves and occasional flowering stalks. The basal leaves develop directly from the rootstock. The blades of these leaves are up to 7' long and 5' across across; the width of the blades can be highly variable. They are lanceolate-sagittate to oval-cordate in shape, medium green, smooth along the margins, and hairless. Along the upper surface, there are many fine parallel veins. The petioles of the basal leaves are as long as the blades or even longer; they are light to medium green, terete (round in cross-section), hairless, hollow, and rather stout. The unbranched flowering stalks are 1-3' long and ascending to erect; similar to the petioles, they are light green, terete, hairless, hollow, and stout. Each flowering stalk bears a single leaf that is similar to the basal leaves, except the base of its petiole is wrapped in a light green sheath. The stalk terminates in a single floral spike up to 5' long. Underneath this spike, there is a light green sheath that wraps around the stalk. Above this sheath, the central axis of the floral spike is glandular-pubescent. The blue-violet flowers and their buds are densely arranged all around the spike; a large spike can produce 100 or more flowers, although they don't bloom all at the same time.  Each flower spans up to ½' across when it is fully open; the short blue-violet corolla has 6 slender lobes (3 upper & 3 lower ones), which spread outward from the throat of the flower. The uppermost lobe has 1-2 small patches of yellow that probably function as nectar guides for visiting insects. The reproductive organs of the flower consist of a single style and 6 stamens of variable length (usually 3 long stamens & 3 short stamens). Because of this variation, there are three different morphological forms of the flower. The blooming period occurs during the summer and early fall and can last several months for a colony of plants. However, individual flowers last only a day or two. The mature fruit of each flower has 3 cells, but only one of them develops a seed. This seed is large in size. The root system consists of long-running rhizomes and coarse fibrous roots. Vegetative colonies are often produced; sometimes, they can become quite large.

cordata: heart-shaped

Pontederia cordata is a stout perennial herbaceous emergent that can reach four feet tall. The light green stems and leaves emerge annually from a thick pad of fibrous roots. These roots give rise to short creeping rhizomes, allowing the plant to spread. The waxy leaves develop at the ends of stems, and are highly variable in shape and size. Their shape will range from oval to lance-like, with size varying 2 to 10 inches long and 1/2 to 6 inches wide. Leaf veins are orientated in a parallel arrangement starting at the base.

The compound, violet to blue flowers emerge from an erect spike. The spike will grow to 6 inches in length. The showy flowers appear anywhere from May to October over much of its range. The corky fruit produced by these flowers is oblong and one seeded.

Pontederia cordata var. angustifolia (Pursh) Torr.:
Argentina (South America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Pontederia cordata fo. brasiliensis Solms:
Argentina (South America)
Brazil (South America)
Paraguay (South America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Pontederia cordata var. lancifolia (Muhl.) Torr.:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Pontederia cordata fo. taenia Fassett:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Pontederia cordata fo. latifolia (Raf.) House:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Pontederia cordata fo. angustifolia (Pursh) Solms:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Pontederia cordata var. ovalis (Mart.) Solms:
Bolivia (South America)
South Africa (Africa & Madagascar)
Paraguay (South America)
Brazil (South America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Pontederia lanceolata fo. brasiliensis (Solms) Fernald:
Argentina (South America)
Brazil (South America)
Colombia (South America)
Paraguay (South America)
Uruguay (South America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Pontederia lanceolata Nutt.:
Argentina (South America)
Belize (Mesoamerica)
Guatemala (Mesoamerica)
Honduras (Mesoamerica)
Mexico (Mesoamerica)
United States (North America)
Caribbean (Caribbean)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Pontederia cordata var. lanceolata (Nutt.) Griseb.:
Argentina (South America)
Mexico (Mesoamerica)
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Pontederia ovalis Mart.:
Brazil (South America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Pontederia cordata L.:
Argentina (South America)
Belize (Mesoamerica)
Brazil (South America)
Canada (North America)
Colombia (South America)
Honduras (Mesoamerica)
Paraguay (South America)
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

N.B., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que.; Ala., Ark., Conn., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Nebr., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Pa., R.I., S.C., S.Dak., Tenn., Tex., Vt., Va., W.Va., Wis.; Mexico; Central America (Belize); South America.

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

United States

Origin: Unknown/Undetermined

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

The natural distribution of pickerelweed is from Nova Scotia to Minnesota, south to Florida and Texas. This plant is typically found growing in the unconsolidated sediments of marshes, streams, shallow lakes, and ponds. It tolerates low fertility and partial sunlight and temporary inundation to 20 inches, but flourishes in fully exposed fertile soils (pH: 6.0 to 8.0), and permanently inundated up to 12 inches deep in freshwater (<3 parts per thousand salinity .).

For a current distribution map, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Website.

Plants perennial, rooted in mud. Vegetative stems contracted, rhizomatous. Flowering stems erect, to 120 cm. Sessile leaves: blade linear. Petiolate leaves emersed; stipule 7–29 cm; petiole distinctly constricted just below blade, to 60 cm; blade lanceolate to cordate, 6–22 × 0.7–12 cm. Spikes with up to several hundred flowers, 2–15 cm; spathes 5–17 cm. Perianth mauve, tube 3–9 mm, limb lobes oblanceolate, 5–8 mm, distal central lobe with 2-lobed yellow spot; proximal stamens 7–13 mm, distal 1.5–6.3 mm; style 3-lobed. Utricles with dentate ridges, 4–6 × 2–3 mm.

Narukila cordata (Linnaeus) Nieuwland; Pontederia angustifolia Pursh; P. cordata var. lanceolata (Nuttall) Grisebach; P. cordata var. lancifolia (Muhlenberg) Torrey; P. lanceolata Nuttall; P. lancifolia Muhlenberg; Unisema cordata (Linnaeus) Farwell

Holotype for Pontederia lanceolata var. vichadensis F.J. Herm.
Catalog Number: US 2169640
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): F. J. Hermann
Year Collected: 1944
Locality: Ca. 18 km NESan Jose de Ocune, bordering Rio Vichada., Vichada, Colombia, South America
Elevation (m): 100 to 100

Pond and lake margins; 0--500m.

Depth range based on 6 specimens in 1 taxon.

Environmental ranges
  Depth range (m): 1 - 1
 
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.

In the wild, pickerelweed is predominantly established from seed; there are approximately 5,000 cleaned seeds per pound. The seeds are dispersed by wind, water, and animals to favorable moist unconsolidated sites, where they establish. Similar processes can be mimicked by humans on-site, in nursery beds or greenhouses. Cool moist stratification of the seed is necessary to trigger adequate germination of spring seedings. Utilizing a seeding rate of 20-30 live seeds per square foot will result in the best establishment and development of a stand.

Although vegetative dispersal is less frequent in nature, scale-like root corms are located near the soil surface or sometimes exposed and easily separate from the parent plant. When harvested these corms can be planted as bare-foot stock or containerized transplants. Bare-rooted material is typically small and manageable enough to plant using standard hand tools (spade, dibble, planting bar, etc.)

The nectar and pollen of the flowers attract Bombus spp. (Bumblebees) and other bees, including Florilegus condigna, Melissodes apicata, and Doufourea novaeangliae. The latter two species are rare oligolectic visitors that collect the pollen of Pickerelweed in particular to feed their larvae. Occasionally, Sulfur Butterflies and other butterflies suck nectar from the flowers. The larvae of some Borer Moths feed within the stalks and leaf petioles of Pickerelweed, including Bellura densa (Pickerelweed Borer Moth), Bellura gortynoides (White-Tailed Diver), and Bellura obliqua (Cattail Borer Moth). The young larvae of the White-Tailed Diver also mine the leaf blades. Pickerelweed is the preferred host plant of the leaf beetle, Donacia rugosa. The large edible seeds are eaten occasionally by various ducks, including the Mallard, Black Duck, Green-Winged Teal, and Wood Duck. Muskrats and White-Tailed Deer occasionally browse on the foliage. When this plant forms dense colonies, it provides cover for fish and other aquatic wildlife. Photographic Location

Pontederia cordata (Pickerelweed)
(Bees suck nectar or collect pollen, while butterflies, skippers, & hummingbirds suck nectar; observations are from Hoffman & Molano-Flores, Robertson, Krombein et al., Hilton Pond Center, and Bouseman, Sternburg, & Wiker, as indicated below)

Birds
Trochilidae: Archilochus colubris sn (HPC)

Bees (long-tongued)
Apidae (Bombini): Bombus bimaculatus (HPC); Anthophoridae (Eucerini): Florilegus condigna sn (Rb), Melissodes apicata (HMF) cp olg

Bees (short-tongued)
Halictidae (Dufoureinae): Dufourea novaeangliae (HMF, Kr) cp olg; Halictidae (Nomiinae): Nomia nortoni nortoni (Kr); Andrenidae (Panurginae): Pseudopanurgus rugosus sn (Kr)

Butterflies
Nymphalidae: Speyeria diana sn (HPC); Pieridae: Colias philodice sn (Rb)

Skippers
Hesperiidae: Amblyscirtes aesculapius sn (HPC), Anatrytone logan sn (BSW), Ancyloxypha numitor sn (BSW), Epargyreus clarus sn (HPC), Euphyes bimaculata sn (BSW), Euphyes dion sn (BSW), Euphyes dukesi sn (BSW), Panquina ocola sn (BSW), Poanes yehl sn (BSW), Poanes zabulon (HPC), Wallengrenia otho sn (BSW)

Flowering Mar--Nov in Florida; flowering season shorter farther north.

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.


No available public DNA sequences.

Download FASTA File

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 6
Specimens with Barcodes: 11
Species With Barcodes: 1

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

These species are introduced in Switzerland.

No known varieties are available, but wetland nurseries carry local and regional ecotypes.

Once established, it is very important to maintain water depths greater then saturation, but shallower than the leaves year round. Maintaining site hydrology within this range will improve survival over winter. Pickerelweed responds well to the addition of commercial or organic fertilizers. The vegetative portions of this species are seldom damaged by insects, diseases, birds, or mammals. The seeds are often preyed upon by waterfowl.

Tightly spaced clonal populations of this species often co-exist with other shoreline inhabitors. Once pickerelweed has become established, seldom will these other species of emergent vegetation grown within the perimeter of the pickerelweed clones.

The preferred growing conditions are full to partial sun and shallow water to wet mucky soil. Pickerelweed is an emergent aquatic plant that doesn't like to dry out. Range & Habitat

Pickerelweed forms large colonies along shallow shorelines. The emergent mass of stems and leaves provide wave-buffering protection. Although slow to spread, the root base of this plant thoroughly covers the sediments with a tough vegetative mat. The seed of pickerelweed is eaten by waterfowl. Geese and muskrats will consume the vegetation, while only fish, and to a lesser extent birds and small mammals, utilize flooded foliage for cover. This species is also used extensively in water gardening, due to its showy violet to blue flowers.

Pontederia cordata has a large number of synonyms, at the levels of species, variety, and form (see R. M. Lowden 1973 for most names). Almost all these names are based on variations in leaf shape, but extensive morphological variation has been observed within single populations and even in individual plants. Study is needed to determine the cause of the extreme leaf base forms of cuneate on lanceolate blades and cordate on ovate blades. Variation has also been observed in peduncle pubescence. A velutinous peduncle and ovate leaf blade with slightly cuneate base is consistently found among some South American populations, hence recognition there of var. ovalis (Martius) Solms. 

 The reproductive biology of Pontederia cordata has been well studied (R. Ornduff 1966; S. D. Price and S. C. H. Barrett 1982, 1984). It is a tristylous species, and most populations contain all three morphs (S. D. Price and S. C. H. Barrett 1982). At least some degree of self-incompatibility exists, being strongest with the short-style morphs and weakest with the midstyle morphs (R. Ornduff 1966).