Potamogeton diversifolius

Diverse-leaved pondweed

Family: Potamogetonaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Diverse-leaved pondweed is a California native perennial found in the northern Coast Ranges, California Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada foothills, northern Sierra Nevada, Central Valley, southern California coastal areas, San Jacinto Mountains, and Modoc Plateau in shallow water, ponds, and lakes at elevations below 2,500 meters. Flowering from April to September, this delicate aquatic plant produces small, inconspicuous flowers in submersed spheric and emergent cylindric inflorescences. Growing with slender stems up to 50 centimeters long and many branches, it develops both submersed linear leaves and floating elliptic leaves. Its leaves are remarkably thin and variable, with submersed leaves typically 6 centimeters long and 1 to 5 millimeters wide, while floating leaves are smaller, 0.5 to 3 centimeters long. The fruit is nearly spheric, compressed, with three distinct keels and measuring 1.1 to 1.8 millimeters long.

Habitat: Uncommon. Shallow water, ponds, lakes

Bloom period: Apr-Sep

Elevation: < 2500 m

Bioregions: NCoRI, CaRF, n&ampc SNF, n SNH, GV, SCo, SnJt, MP

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.