Slender Pondweed
Scientific name: Potamogeton pusillus L.
Family: Potamogetonaceae
MORPHOLOGY
Habit and dimensions: Aquatic herbaceous plant, perennial reaching heights of 30-80 cm.
Stem: Cylindrical stem, threadlike, sparsely branched.
Leaves: Narrowly linear leaves (0.5-1 x 15-30 mm) with (1)3-5 indistinct veins, acute or sometimes obtuse apex; stipules (1 cm) fused into a tube, then deciduous.
Flowers: Short spikes (less than 1 cm) on slender peduncles, 2-3 times longer. Blooms from May to August.
Fruits and seeds: Fruits are 1.2-1.5 mm, with a rounded ventral line and keeled dorsal line; beak about one-fourth of the total length.
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT
Present throughout Italy except in Val d’Aosta and Puglia. It lives in ditches, canals, and ponds, in clear water, from 0 to 2,000 m.
Photo: under free license from iNaturalist and Saxifraga and Rutger Barendse
 
		 
	


















