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Potamogeton spirillus

Tuckerman

Spiral Pondweed

G5Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.161465
Element CodePMPOT03100
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassMonocotyledoneae
OrderNajadales
FamilyPotamogetonaceae
GenusPotamogeton
Other Common Names
Potamot spirillé (FR) spiral pondweed (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-10-03
Change Date1984-06-25
Edition Date2024-10-03
Edition AuthorsM.E. Stover, TNC-HO, rev. N. Ventrella (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Potamogeton spirillus is a perennial or annual aquatic forb occurring in shallow quiet waters of streams, lakes, ponds, wet swales, and tidal mud of eastern North America from Newfoundland and Labrador west to Manitoba, Canada south to Nebraska and east to Virginia in the United States. There are over 300 occurrences of this taxon, which are potentially threatened by development, water diversion, alteration of hydrology, erosion, pollution, recreational activities, invasive species, climate change, and other threats in some places. Little is known about threats or trends, but with a large range extent, high number of occurrences, abundant habitat, broad habitat preferences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities, Potamogeton spirillus is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Potamogeton spirillus occurs in eastern North America from Newfoundland and Labrador west to Manitoba, Canada south to Nebraska and east to Virginia in the United States (FNA 2000, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2024). Range extent was estimated to be 1.9 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations collected between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024, it is estimated that there are more than 300 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Potamogeton spirillus is likely threatened by development, water diversion, alteration of hydrology, erosion, pollution, recreational activities, invasive species, climate change, and other threats in some places, though there is insufficient data, including anecdotal accounts, to understand scope and severity of threats for this species.
Ecology & Habitat

Diagnostic Characteristics

Tips of submersed leaves obtuse; fruit 1.3-2.2 mm wide, lateral keels scarcely developed or rarely well developed, beak lacking; submersed leaves 0.5-2.0 mm wide, not long-tapering; lacunae abundant; middle stem leaves less than 190 times as long as broad; free portion of stipule not nore than twice as long as fused portion; floating leaves 5-15-veined, the apices acute or obtuse; stipules adnate to leaf for less than 10mm; floating leaves sometimes present; fruit with a lateral keel; embryo distinctly coiled. (Hellquist & Crow 1980)

Habitat

Potamogeton spirillus occurs in shallow quiet waters of lakes, ponds, slow moving streams, wet swales, quiet shallow waters, and tidal mud (Fernald 1950, Hough 1983, Roland and Smith 1983, Voss 1985, Gleason and Cronquist 1991). This species is found in acid to alkaline waters (mean pH 7.0, range 5.9-10.2), but it is usually in moderately alkaline water (Hellquist and Crow 1980, Hellquist 1980).

Reproduction

Members of the genus are wind- or water-pollinated (Proctor and Yeo 1973). The genus is largely dispersed by floating parts and seeds, or plant parts are dispersed by aquatic birds (Ridley 1930).
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
North DakotaSNRYes
New JerseyS3Yes
MassachusettsSNRYes
New YorkS5Yes
South DakotaSNRYes
PennsylvaniaSNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
New HampshireSNRYes
MinnesotaSNRYes
MaineSNRYes
NebraskaSNRYes
West VirginiaSHYes
KentuckyS1Yes
WisconsinSNRYes
VermontS5Yes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
VirginiaSHYes
IowaSHYes
OhioSHYes
ConnecticutSNRYes
DelawareS4Yes
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
Island of NewfoundlandS2Yes
QuebecS4Yes
ManitobaS1Yes
OntarioS5Yes
Nova ScotiaS5Yes
New BrunswickS4Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undetermined———

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationANNUAL, PERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (1)
Minnesota (1)
AreaForestAcres
Wood LakeSuperior National Forest596
References (17)
  1. Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants. Columbia Univ. Press, New York. 1262 pp.
  2. Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. 8th edition. Corrected printing (1970). D. Van Nostrand Company, New York. 1632 pp.
  3. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2000. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 22. Magnoliophyta: Alismatidae, Arecidae, Commelinidae (in part), and Zingiberidae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiii + 352 pp.
  4. Gleason, H.A., and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York. 910 pp.
  5. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
  6. Hellquist, C. B. 1980. Correlation of alkalinity and the distribution of <i>Potamogeton </i>in New England. Rhodora 82: 331-334.
  7. Hellquist, C.B. and G.E. Crow. 1980. Aquatic vascular plants of New England: Part 1. Zosteraceae, Potamogetonaceae, Zannichelliaceae, Najadaceae. New Hampshire Experiment Station, Durham, New Hampshire. 66 p.
  8. Hough, M.Y. 1983. New Jersey wild plants. Harmony Press, Harmony, NJ. 414 pp.
  9. iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
  10. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  11. Les, D. 2020. Aquatic Monocotyledons of North America: Ecology, Life History, and Systematics. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 568 pp.
  12. Proctor, M., and P. Yeo. 1973. The pollination of flowers. William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd, London. 418 pp.
  13. Ridley, H.N. 1930. The dispersal of plants throughout the world. L. Reeve & Co., Ltd., Ashford, Kent, United Kingdom. 744 pp.
  14. Roland, A.E., and E.C. Smith. 1983. The flora of Nova Scotia: Volumes 1 and 2. Nova Scotia Museum, Halifax, NS, Canada. 746 pp.
  15. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2024. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2024).
  16. Voss, E.G. 1972. Michigan flora: A guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state. Part I. Gymnosperms and monocots. Cranbrook Institute of Science and Univ. Michigan Herbarium. Ann Arbor. 488 pp.
  17. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2024. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of March 4, 2024. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2203 pp.