Stuckenia pectinata

Fennel-leaf pondweed, Fennel-Leaf Pondweed

Family: Potamogetonaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Fennel-leaf pondweed is a native perennial found throughout California in ponds, lakes, marshes, and streams at elevations up to 2,400 meters. Flowering from May to July, this aquatic plant produces small, subtle flowers in interrupted whorled clusters. Growing with matted rhizomes and slender stems up to 80 centimeters long, it forms dense underwater meadows with numerous branching stems. Its leaves are exceptionally thin, thread-like, and less than 15 centimeters long, with delicate acute tips measuring only 0.2 to 1 millimeter wide. The fruits are small, typically 2.5 to 5 millimeters long, with a conspicuous beak that distinguishes this adaptable aquatic species.

Habitat: Common. Ponds, lakes, marshes, streams

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: < 2400 m

Bioregions: CA

California counties: San Bernardino, Orange, San Diego, San Mateo, Ventura, Kern, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Solano, Riverside, Santa Clara, Santa Barbara, Inyo, Mendocino, Modoc, Mono, Merced, Siskiyou, Contra Costa, Alameda, Sonoma, El Dorado, Humboldt, Lassen, Tulare, Monterey, Imperial, Lake, Napa, Glenn, Stanislaus, Butte

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