Spotted Pondweed
Potamogeton pulcher
Found in ponds, pools, ditches, streams. 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 76%
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Standing water
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- June to September
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 1 West Virginia county.
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.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
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 West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 58 animals.
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
- Yellow-crowned Night-heronNyctanassa violacea
Widespread birds also seen here (29)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- Alder Flycatcher
- American Goldfinch
- American Robin
- Belted Kingfisher
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Raven
- Cooper's Hawk
- Eastern Kingbird
- European Starling
- Great Horned Owl
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Osprey
- Purple Finch
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
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
18BirdsRecorded eating Potamogeton in West Virginia
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes West Virginia, most records first.
- American CootSeeds. 10 diet records
- MallardSeeds and leaves. 9 diet records
- Lesser ScaupSeeds and leaves. 5 diet records
- Ring-necked DuckSeeds. 5 diet records
- Greater Scaup4 diet records
- RedheadFlowers and leaves. 3 diet records
- Northern ShovelerLeaves and seeds. 3 diet records
- Wood DuckLeaves. 3 diet records
- CanvasbackSeeds. 2 diet records
- SoraLeaves. 2 diet records
Show all 18
- American Wigeon1 diet record
- Common GoldeneyeSeeds. 1 diet record
- Eurasian Wigeon1 diet record
- GadwallLeaves. 1 diet record
- Northern PintailRoots. 1 diet record
- Ruddy DuckSeeds. 1 diet record
- Surf Scoter1 diet record
- Tundra SwanLeaves. 1 diet record
Direct food only. 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
Birds that eat Potamogeton 18
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- American CootFulica americana
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Greater ScaupAythya marila
- RedheadAythya americana
- Northern ShovelerAnas clypeata
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- CanvasbackAythya valisineria
- SoraPorzana carolina
- American WigeonAnas americana
- Common GoldeneyeBucephala clangula
- Eurasian WigeonAnas penelope
- GadwallAnas strepera
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
- Surf ScoterMelanitta perspicillata
- Tundra SwanCygnus columbianus
Plant details
- Family
- Potamogetonaceae
- Flower color
- Green or brown
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Water (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Spotted Pond Weed
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| 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
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- 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