Pontederia cordata

Pontederia cordata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class:	Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Order:	Commelinales
Family:	Pontederiaceae
Genus:	Pontederia
Species:	P. cordata
Binomial name
Pontederia cordata L.
Natural range of Pontederia cordata from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common name: pickerelweed

Description

A description of Pontederia cordata is provided in The Flora of North America.

Ecology

Habitat

Pontederia cordata has occurred in mucky soils of river floodplains, an outlet stream to a brackish marsh, shallow river water, cypress swamps, cypress-gum swamps, lake shores, open pools in gum swamps, and a river headwater marsh. It has also been found in disturbed areas such as open roadside ditches, along swamp logging roads, a weedy pond adjacent to a road, modified cypress-sawgrass exposed habitat, mowed roadside ditches, roadside cypress swamps, and the edge of a phosphate pool (FSU Herbarium). Soil types include sandy peat and sandy-clay-alluvium (FSU Herbarium). It has been observed to grow in shaded habitats (FSU Herbarium). Associated species include Taxodium, Nyssa aquatica, Fraxinus tomentosa, Serenoa repens, Cyperus odoratus, Paspalum dissectum, and Echinochloa walteri (FSU Herbarium).

Phenology

It has been observed flowering March through November and fruiting April through October (FSU Herbarium). Flowers are blue (FSU Herbarium).

Pollination

The following Hymenoptera families and species were observed visiting flowers of Pontederia cordata at Archbold Biological Station (Deyrup 2015):

Megachilidae: Dianthidium floridiense

References and notes

Deyrup, M.A. and N.D. 2015. Database of observations of Hymenoptera visitations to flowers of plants on Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA.