Pickerelweeds
What are they?
The pickerelweed family (Pontederiaceae) consists of a number of aquatic and marginal plants that are mostly native to the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Perhaps its most famous family member is the Water-hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes which has become notorious as an invasive alien in many countries, where it grows remarkably quickly and smothers wetland habitats. These are monocotyledonous plants with the flowers having six tepals, all fused at the base into a narrow tube but separate at the mouth. The flowers are irregular in shape, with the upper three tepals tnding to be a little broader and closer together than the lower three.
Where are they found?
There are no native members of the family in the UK and their tropical origin means that most are unable to survive outdoors for long here. Plants sometimes out-grow the garden ponds that they are placed in and this results in them occasionally being deposited in village ponds and similar permanent waterways.
Identification
Just a single species has been recorded in our region, making it relatively straightforward to identify, with its arrowhead leaves and bright, blue-purple flower spikes.
Pickerelweed Pontederia cordata
Introduced as a garden plant from North America and recorded on two occasions in Norfolk and Suffolk. Flowers June to September. Forms stands of leaves to a metre tall in the margins of ponds and other still or slow-moving waterways.
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