General: Perennial, aquatic herb from strong rhizomes; stems creeping, up to 100 cm long, branched.
Leaves: All submersed, 2-ranked, linear-lanceolate, the sides parallel, dark green, stiff, unstalked, with 9 to 35 veins, 2-10 cm long, 0.4-0.8 cm wide, attached at about 5-10 mm above the nodes, the tips pointed, the bases rounded, the margins toothed, the stipules 0.5-2 cm long, light green or whitish, the tips shredded.
Flowers: Inflorescence spikelike, often branched, the spikes 2.5-4 cm long, with 3 to 5 whorls of flowers, the stalks thin.
Lakes in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; frequent in coastal BC, infrequent E of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; N to AK, YT and NT, E to PQ, NB and NS and S to to ME, MA, PA, OH, AL, IL, MN, CO, UT, ID and OR.
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)
