home

Potamogeton natans - Broad-leaved Pondweed

Phylum: Magnoliophyta - Class: Equisetopsida - Order: Alismatales - Family: Potamogetonaceae

Broad-leaved pondweed

Broad-leaved Pondweed is widespread and common throughout the UK and Ireland. These submerged perennial weeds aren't always easy to identify, because the leaf shape varies according to the flow of water. The submerged leaves are narrower than the floating leaves. The sample pictured here is from a small pool where there is very little water movement.

Flowers of Broad-leaved pondweed

In summer you may see spikes of small green flowers which appear from May until September, but pondweeds generally spread via their root systems and so flowering is unnecessary for their continuity.

There are several related species. They are all rather similar, although not all have floating leaves, and as hybrids also occur it can be difficult to ascertain exactly which species are present in an area.

The photograph on this page was taken in West Wales.

Sue Parker's latest ebook is a revised and enlarged edition of Wild Orchids in The Burren. Full details here...

Buy it for just £5.95 on Amazon...


Wildflowers in the Algarve, an introductory guide, by Sue Parker

Sue Parker's latest ebook is a revised and enlarged second edition of the acclaimed Wildflowers in the Algarve - an introductory guide. Full details here...

Buy it for just £3.95 on Amazon...

Sue Parker's new ebook is a comprehensive and fully revised edition of her acclaimed field guide to the Wild Orchids of Wales. Full details here...

Buy it for just £5.95 on Amazon...

Sue Parker's 5-star acclaimed field guide to the Wild Orchids of the Algarve is now available as an ebook. Full details here...

Buy it for just £5.95 on Amazon...


Please Help Us: If you have found this information interesting and useful, please consider helping to keep First Nature online by making a small donation towards the web hosting and internet costs.

Any donations over and above the essential running costs will help support the conservation work of Plantlife, the Rivers Trust and charitable botanic gardens - as do author royalties and publisher proceeds from books by Pat and Sue.

© 1995 - 2024 First Nature: a not-for-profit volunteer-run resource

Please help to keep this free resource online...

Terms of use - Privacy policy - Disable cookies - Links policy