Pontederia is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. Pontederia is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud. The genus was named by Linnaeus in honour of the Italian botanist Giulio Pontedera. Pontederia plants have large waxy leaves, succulent stems and a thick pad of fibrous roots. The roots give rise to rhizomes that allow rapid colonization by vegetative reproduction. Species are perennial, and produce a large spike of flowers in the summer. There is a species of bee (Dufourea novaeangliae) that exclusively visits Pontederia cordata; waterfowl also eat the fruit of the plant. Pontederia cordata and Pontederia crassipes (formerly known as Eichhornia crassipes), have become invasive in many tropical and temperate parts of the globe, but are, on the other hand, efficient biological filters of polluted water in constructed wetlands. Species Pontederia includes the following 25 accepted species: Pontederia africana (Solms) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn Pontederia australasica (Ridl.) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn Pontederia azurea Sw. Pontederia brevipetiolata (Verdc.) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn Pontederia cordata L. Pontederia crassipes Mart. Pontederia cyanea (F.Muell.) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn Pontederia diversifolia (Vahl) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn Pontederia elata (Ridl.) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn Pontederia hastata L. Pontederia heterosperma (Alexander) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn Pontederia korsakowii (Regel & Maack) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn Pontederia meyeri (A.G.Schulz) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn Pontederia natans P.Beauv. Pontederia ovalis Mart. ex Schult. & Schult.f. Pontederia paniculata Spreng. Pontederia paradoxa Mart. ex Schult. & Schult.f. Pontederia parviflora Alexander Pontederia plantaginea Roxb. Pontederia rotundifolia L.f. Pontederia sagittata C.Presl Pontederia subovata (Seub.) Lowden Pontederia triflora (Seub.) G.Agostini, D.Velázquez & J.Velásquez Pontederia vaginalis Burm.f. Pontederia valida (G.X.Wang & Nagam.) M.Pell. & C.N.Horn References External links Google Books - Creating Freshwater Wetlands by Donald A. Hammer Pontederiaceae Commelinales genera Aquatic plants Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus