Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)
Pickerelweed is a native, perennial aquatic wildflower in Wisconsin, rising from shallow water on stout stems that anchor themselves in muck through a thick, creeping rhizome. By midsummer its flower spikes—four to six inches tall—lift above the water’s surface, each one made of dozens of small, blue, half‑inch blossoms. Every flower has three upper and three lower petals, a structure that guides visiting bees toward the pollen‑bearing center. Bumble bees, leafcutter bees, and even the occasional butterfly work these spikes steadily, moving from bloom to bloom in a way that turns each plant into a small pollinator landing strip. The leaves, four to ten inches long, are pointed, toothless, and distinctly heart‑shaped, each one indented at the base where it clasps the stem. They rise directly from the underground root system, forming a loose, upright fan that helps shade the water and slow evaporation around the plant. In quiet coves, backwaters, and the edges of ponds and slow streams, pickerelweed becomes part of a larger aquatic community—stabilizing sediments, offering shelter for tadpoles and minnows, and feeding the insects that in turn feed fish and dragonflies.
Sources:
USDA Forest Service – Pontederia cordata (Pickerelweed)
Minnesota Wildflowers – Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)
Illinois Wildflowers – Pickerelweed
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Pontederia cordata
Wisconsin DNR – Aquatic Native Plants: Pickerelweed
Missouri Botanical Garden – Pontederia cordata: Ecology and Identification
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