Pickerel Weed

Pontederia cordata var. cordata

Found in swamps, seepage areas, marshes, pond-shores, lake-shores. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

Strong

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

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Height: About 3.2 feet
Light: Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture: Wet to standing water

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Pontederia cordata var. cordata — bloom photograph — Nathan Howell; Howell, Krings and Braham (2016) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

At a glance

Bloom: May to October
Fruiting season: Summer to fall

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Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Recorded in 54 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

1 of 2

Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Groundwater seep. Shown: Gum Swamp Trail, Weymouth Woods, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Weymouth Woods Gum Swamp Trail seep, ncwetlands.org, undated. CC BY 2.0. Source record.

Habitats

Swamps; seeps and springs; freshwater marshes.

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Pontederia

Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
Bellura densaPickerel Weed Border Moth, Pickerelweed Diver
Bellura gortynoidesWhite-Tailed Diver
Bellura obliquaCattail Border Moth, Cattail Diver
Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
Pyrrhia exprimensPurple-Lined Sallow, Purple-Lined Sun Moth

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

29BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Pontederia

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

2Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Pontederia

Dufourea novaeangliae
Melissodes apicatus

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

—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Pontederiaceae
Flower color: Blue
Growth rate: Moderate
Growth habit: Grows in clumps
Foliage color: Green
Fruit begins: Summer
Fruit ends: Fall

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

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “May to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Blue” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth habit · “Grows in clumps” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Height · “About 3.2 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
primary_flower_color · “blue” · USDA PLANTS
Soil · “Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Conservation status

Virginia rank	Not available
Global rank	G5T5
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Pickerel Weed

At a glance

Natural habitats

Habitats

Who uses this plant?

Plant details

Conservation status

Will it fit your yard?

Sources

More Pontederia