PONTEDERIACE^E PICKEREL- WEED FAMILY 



Pontederia cordata, L. 

 Varying shades of lilac-blue. Pickerel-weed. 



Pontederia: plant dedicated to Pontedera, a professor at 



Padua in the 18th century. 

 Cordata: Latin for heart-shaped. 



THE PREFERRED HABITAT: peaty borders of ponds. 



THE PLANT: erect, one foot to four feet high; the stem 

 rather stout, smooth, angled. 



THE SOLITARY LEAF: ovate to lanceolate; without hairs 

 on either surface; obtuse at the apex; deeply cut at the 

 base (cordate-sagittate), the lobes obtuse; on a long, hair- 

 less, angled stem, which at its base sheaths the main stem. 



THE FLOWERS: crowded in a short spike, borne on a glan- 

 dular, hairy, angled stem; the tube, calyx, stamens, and 

 pistil bright blue; the tube finally divided, the lips slightly 

 shorter than the tube; the middle lobe of the upper lip 

 with two yellow spots at the base within. When the flower 

 dies, the lobes and upper part of the tube wither above, 

 while the persistent base hardens around the fruit. 



THE FRUIT: an utricle. 



Tall plants of Pickerel-weed massed on the edges of 

 deep blue ponds or even filling small peat holes, afford a 

 beautiful sight! The flower stems are glossy and smooth, 

 bearing one blunt, arrowhead-shaped, thick, dark green, 

 leaf which contrasts in colour with dense spikes of violet 

 blue, irregularly-shaped flowers. These are marked with 

 a distinct yellow-green spot. Handsome as are the plants 

 when growing out-of-doors, they are difficult to handle 



21 



