States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaFloridaVirginia
Menu

Clasping-leaf Pondweed

Potamogeton perfoliatus

Found in fresh to oligohaline tidal aquatic beds, also ponds and other nontidal waters. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

42
Good

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 76%

Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Standing water
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
June to October

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves

Height: NC species account not read yet.

Spread and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 2 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Georgia pond and emergent wetland
Regional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

8CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Potamogeton

  • Elophila gyralisWaterlily Borer Moth
  • Elophila icciusalisPondside Pyralid, Pondside Crambid
  • Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
  • Langessa nomophilalisBlack Langessa
  • Parapoynx allionealisWatermilfoil Leafcutter, Bladderwort Casemaker
  • Parapoynx badiusalisChestnut-Marked Pondweed Moth
  • Parapoynx obscuralisObscure Pondweed Moth
  • Parapoynx seminealisFloating-Heart Waterlilly Moth, Waterlily Casebearer
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
23BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Potamogeton

  • Aix sponsaWood Duck
  • Anas acutaNorthern Pintail
  • Anas creccaGreen-winged Teal
  • Anas platyrhynchosMallard
  • Aythya affinisLesser Scaup
  • Aythya americanaRedhead
  • Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
  • Aythya marilaGreater Scaup
  • Aythya valisineriaCanvasback
  • Bucephala clangulaCommon Goldeneye
Show all 23
  • Cygnus buccinatorTrumpeter Swan
  • Cygnus columbianusTundra Swan
  • Cygnus olorMute Swan
  • Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
  • Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
  • Mareca penelopeEurasian Wigeon
  • Mareca streperaGadwall
  • Melanitta perspicillataSurf Scoter
  • Oxyura jamaicensisRuddy Duck
  • Polysticta stelleriSteller's Eider
  • Porzana carolinaSora
  • Somateria fischeriSpectacled Eider
  • Spatula clypeataNorthern Shoveler
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Potamogetonaceae
Flower color
Green or brown

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Clasping leaf Pondweed

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

Choose a county to begin.

How to check your spot

Sources