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Common name: Pickerel weed
Botanical name: Pontederia cordata Family: Pontederiaceae (pickerel weed family)
Pickerel weed is a very common aquatic plant, with a cluster of erect
arrowhead-shaped leaves arising from a single basal clump. It is a prolific
grower and can cover large areas. The leaves are 4-8 in across,
shiny green and thick-spongy, standing up to 3 ft tall on fleshy
petioles (leaf stems) Throughout late spring and summer, pickerelweed
produces showy 6-8 in spires of violet-blue flowers standing on
stalks 2-3 ft high. The individual flowers are about 1 in
across and elaborately-beautiful, reminiscent of an orchid. Pickerelweed
spreads by creeping rhizomes (underground stems) just beneath the surface.
Pickerelweed often forms dense stands that paint a summertime marsh
purplish-blue.
| Photographed in Garden of Five Senses, Delhi. |
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