General: Perennial, aquatic herb from fine, tufted roots; stems up to 100 cm long, extensively branched.
Leaves: All submersed, linear, the sides parallel, thin, green, 1-9 cm long, 0.3-2.5 mm wide, usually with 3 veins, unstalked, the tips pointed, the stipules 0.5-1 cm long, delicate, not fibrous, greenish or brownish, the margins fused towards the bases, the veins evident as ridges running the entire length, the glands either lacking or poorly developed.
Flowers: Inflorescence spikelike, the spikes 0.5-1.5 cm long, with 2 to 5 whorls of flowers, the stalks thin; bases of winter buds soft, smooth.
Fruits: Achenes, egg-shaped, 1.5-2.5 mm long, 1.2-2 mm wide, widest in the middle, the beaks short stubby, the keels strongly developed, winged.
Lakes, ponds and ditches in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; frequent in BC south of 55 degrees N, rare in N BC, N to AK and YT, E to NF and S to ME, MA, PA, NC, FL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ and CA; Mexico.
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)
