Pontederiaceae - Botanical Family

Botanical name: Pontederia cordata

Common names: Pickerel Plant, Pickerelweed, Blue Pickerel

Family: Pontederiaceae

Origin: Eastern North America

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Pickerelweed typically grows to about 2 to 3 Ft tall. Pickerelweed is an aquatic or marsh perennial with a cluster of erect arrowhead-shaped leaves arising from a single basal clump. Its leaves are large, up to 5" wide, and are usually twice as long. Leaf shapes are variable, but are usually lance-shaped. The easiest way to recognize pickerelweed is by its spike of violet-blue flowers. Sometimes the flowers are white. Plant pickerelweed in the margins of a garden pond or water garden. You can plant it in a pot, then set the pot in the water. That way you can change the depth and position of the plant if necessary. Cut flowers are strikingly beautiful when viewed up close, and although each individual flower lasts only one day, more will open each day and the entire inflorescence will last for several days in a vase of water. Propagation: The rootstock of large plants is easily divided.

Botanical names: Pontederia crassipes, Eichhornia crassipes

Common name: Water Hyacinth

Family: Pontederiaceae

Origin: South America

Water hyacinth, is a distinctive floating plant that is suitable for indoor ponds and large open aquariums. It is also used as a summer plant in European garden ponds. Its size depends on the nutrients in the water and the light intensity. In open aquariums containing pure water it forms decorative miniature plants. It is now distributed all over the tropics and has become a menace, covering lake surfaces. In favourable conditions it forms an amazingly beautiful hyacinth-like flower.

Botanical name: Pontederia rotundifolia

Common name: Tropical Pickerelweed

Family: Pontederiaceae

Origin: Central and South America

Pontederia rotundifolia, also known as Tropical Pickerelweed, is a small plant native to Central and South America. It prefers full sun to semi-shade and thrives in bog or aquatic environments. This plant blooms with beautiful pink, blue, and lavender, purple flowers.

Grown all year long and in USDA Zones between 9 and 11

This plant is considered invasive and prohibited to grow in Florida