PICKEREL-WEED FAMILY. 



PONTEDERIACE^. 

 Pickerel-weed. Pontederia cordata. 



Found in shallow water from July to September. 



The height is variable, from 4 to 6 inches or more. The stalk is 

 stout, round, smooth, and green ; it grows with sharp-angled turns below 

 the water. 



The leaf is large and arrow-shaped, with a blunt tip ; the margin 

 is entire, the fibre tough and leathery, the surface extremely smooth, and 

 the color a dark strong green. The stem is round, large, and sheathes 

 the stalk. 



The irregularly 4-parted flower has a short tube ; the upper divi- 

 sion is erect, broad, and 3-lobed ; the 3 lower divisions are long, narrow, 

 and spreading ; it has 6 stamens. In color it is a dull bluish violet, the 

 broad division marked with two round greenish-yellow spots. The 

 flowers grow in a thick blunt spike, and bloom spirally ; the stem is 

 enfolded about midway by a small sheathing, green leaf. 



The flowers are fleeting with the day. In general lines the 

 Pickerel-weed is full of vigor, and strong swinging curves, but there 

 is a primitive lack of finish in its growth. 



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