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.
If more than one illustration is
available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two
subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below.
Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
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)
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.
