Spiral Pondweed, Northern Snailseed Pondweed
Potamogeton spirillus
Found in neutral to acidic waters of ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers. 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.
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.
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
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
- 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), Northern Tier edition
- 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