Plants - Pacific Northwest

Pontederia Cordata - Pickerel weed

Plate 240 Plate 241 Plate 242

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Pontederia Cordata: Pickerel weed.

The native pickerel weed is a very common immersed plant. It is a prolific grower and can cover large areas.
Pickerel weed typically grows to about two to three feet tall. Its leaves are large, up to five inches wide, and are usually twice as long. Leaf shapes are variable, but are usually lance-shaped. The easiest way to recognize pickerel weed is by its spike of violet-blue flowers. Sometimes the flowers are white.

The common name suggests that the fish called Pickerel are found in proximity to this plant.
Lore: The fruit can be eaten like nuts and the young, tender leaves can be eaten cooked or fresh. Of course, wildlife also dine upon the leaves and fruit.

Native of North America; Ontario to Nova Scotia and New England; south to Florida; west to Oklahoma; north to Minnesota; typically in shallow, quiet water in marshes, edges of ponds, lakes, and streams.