Oakes' pondweed
Potamogeton oakesianus
Found in acidic waters of lakes, streams, bogs, and beaver ponds. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 47%
- Light
- 4 or more hours of direct sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
County records are not available.
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.
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Potamogeton
- Elophila icciusalisPondside Pyralid, Pondside Crambid
- Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
- Parapoynx allionealisWatermilfoil Leafcutter, Bladderwort Casemaker
- Parapoynx badiusalisChestnut-Marked Pondweed Moth
- Parapoynx obscuralisObscure Pondweed Moth
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
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
Plant details
- Family
- Family not recorded
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | SH |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- West Virginia 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