Potamogeton richardsonii

Richardson's pondweed

Family: Potamogetonaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Richardson's pondweed is a native perennial found in coastal, Klamath, Cascade Range, central Sierra Nevada, and northern Sierra Nevada regions in shallow to deep water habitats including ponds, lakes, and streams at elevations up to 2,800 meters. Flowering from July to August, this aquatic plant produces small, inconspicuous flowers on compact inflorescences less than 4 centimeters long. Growing with matted rhizomes and slender stems up to 70 centimeters long, it develops branches that are generally straight and cylindrical. Its submersed leaves are distinctive, linear to lance-ovate, 1 to 12 centimeters long with widths of 10 to 20 millimeters, featuring crinkly margins near the tip and a clasping base. The plant's leaves have 3 to 35 visible veins and persistent stipules that remain as delicate fibers after drying.

Habitat: Uncommon. Shallow to deep water, ponds, lakes, lagoons, streams

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: < 2800 m

Bioregions: NCo, KR, CaRH, c SN, n SNH, MP

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