Curly Pondweed
Potamogeton crispus
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in ponds, lakes, and streams, often in calcareous waters. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Louisiana. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- 1–5 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Standing water
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Do not plant. Listed invasive in Louisiana.
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- Mid spring
- Fruiting season
- Spring to summer
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 6 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.
Streams, rivers and their banks
Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Louisiana. Shared habitat, not food. 94 animals.
- Long-billed DowitcherLimnodromus scolopaceus
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Magnificent FrigatebirdFregata magnificens
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Marsh WrenCistothorus palustris
- MerlinFalco columbarius
- Mississippi KiteIctinia mississippiensis
- Mottled DuckAnas fulvigula
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Purple FinchCarpodacus purpureus
- Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus
- Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Roseate SpoonbillPlatalea ajaja
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Rusty BlackbirdEuphagus carolinus
Who uses this plant?
6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Potamogeton
- Elophila gyralisWaterlily Borer Moth
- Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
- Parapoynx allionealisWatermilfoil Leafcutter, Bladderwort Casemaker
- Parapoynx badiusalisChestnut-Marked Pondweed Moth
- Parapoynx obscuralisObscure Pondweed Moth
- Parapoynx seminealisFloating-Heart Waterlilly Moth, Waterlily Casebearer
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist 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
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
Plant details
- Family
- Potamogetonaceae
- Flower color
- Green
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Single crown
- Foliage color
- Red
- Fruit begins
- Spring
- Fruit ends
- Summer
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Mid spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Red” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Single crown” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “1–5 feet” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “green” · USDA PLANTS
- Soil · “Water (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Curly Pond Weed
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| LA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Louisiana occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications