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Curly Pondweed

Potamogeton crispus

Found in ponds, lakes, and streams, often in calcareous waters. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

-15
Harmful

Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 76%

Height
1–5 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Standing water
See native alternatives

Do not plant. Listed invasive in Virginia.

Plant this instead

Choose your county to list local plants first.

  • Northern Roughleaf Goldenrod
    Solidago patula

    Sun: Full to part sun. Soil: Moist to wet. Flowers: Yellow.

    Similar growth form, height, evergreen or deciduous

    Different: bloom season, flower color

  • Bearded Beggarticks
    Bidens aristosa

    Sun: Full sun, Partial shade. Soil: Somewhat dry to moist. Flowers: Yellow.

    Similar growth form, height, evergreen or deciduous

    Different: bloom season, flower color

  • Smooth Beggarticks
    Bidens laevis

    Sun: Full sun, Partial shade. Soil: Usually moist. Flowers: Brown/copper or yellow.

    Similar growth form, height, evergreen or deciduous

    Different: bloom season

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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 39 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 2

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond
Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal pond margins, Florida and Louisiana to North Carolina; state not identified, a neighboring state.Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Watauga Falls
Named place / source context. Shown: Watauga Falls, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Watauga Falls, Illustrator/engraver not confidently attributed; reproduced in Zeigler and Grosscup, The Heart of the Alleghanies (1883), 1883. Public domain. Source record.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 118 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Potamogeton

  • Elophila gyralisWaterlily Borer Moth
  • Elophila icciusalisPondside Pyralid, Pondside Crambid
  • 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
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—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
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

Growing and identification

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
Also known as

Curly Pond Weed

Conservation status

Virginia rankSNA
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Sources