General: Perennial, aquatic herb from strong rhizomes; stems mostly unbranched or sparingly branched, with a reddish tinge, nearly circular in cross-section, tapered, up to 200 cm long.
Leaves: Submersed leaves flat, thin, linear-lanceolate, 4-10 cm long, 5-20 mm wide, with 7 to 9 veins, unstalked, not clasping the stem, the stipules 1.5-2.5 cm long, thin, membranous, persistent; floating leaves, if developed, lanceolate, 3-8 cm long, 2-5 cm wide, gradually tapered into stalks.
Flowers: Inflorescence spikelike, the spikes 1-3.5 mm long, with 5 to 10 whorls of flowers, the stalks thick.
Fruits: Achenes, egg-shaped, 3-3.5 mm long, 2-2.4 mm wide, slightly compressed at their sides, the beaks long, often curved, the dorsal keels narrow, prominent, the lateral keels obscure.
Notes: Stem anatomical characters Interlacunar and subepidermal bundles lacking, pseudohypodermis lacking, endodermis of O-cells.
Nutrient-poor lakes and sloughs in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; frequent throughout BC; circumpolar, N to AK, YT, NT, E to NF and S to ME, NH, NY, MI, WI, MN, SD, CO, UT, NV and CA; Eurasia.
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2013)
