| Author | Rafinesque | |
| Distribution | Scattered in the Coastal Plain, mostly in the lower/Eastern portions; also widely scattered in the Mountains, but just a single Piedmont record (Granville County). The gap in the Piedmont is likely real.
This is a very widespread species across the continent, found across Canada and in all 50 US states. However, it is scarce south of the VA mountains, northern AR, and OK. | |
| Abundance | Rare in the Coastal Plain and Mountains, and very rare in the Piedmont. This is a Watch List species. | |
| Habitat | This is a species of primarily calcareous waters underlain by limestone and marl, in NC. It occurs in still to slow-moving waters of lakes, ponds, and streams, including ones that are oligohaline or brackish near the coast. |
| Phenology | Flowers and fruits from May to October. | |
| Identification | This is a very slender species that is frequently branched, reaching 2-3 feet long, with all leaves being submerged. The leaves are linear, opposite or alternate, about 2 inches long but only 1/10-inch wide at most; there are 3-5 nerves on a leaf. In this species, there are no glands at the base of a leaf; you will need a hand lens to check this, but both P. berchtoldii and P. pusillus do have a gland at the base of each leaf. This species has very short spikes, conical but barely 1/8-inch long and wide, on fairly short stalks. The spikes of the other two species are cylindrical and about 2/5-inch long, and on moderately long stalks. Take great care when separating these three species, as only P. pusillus is numerous in the state. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | The taxon found in the state is the nominate variety -- var. foliosus.
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| Other Common Name(s) | None. Note that this plant is hardly "leafy", at least no more so than most other pondweeds. | |
| State Rank | S2 | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
| State Status | [W1] | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | OBL link |
| USACE-emp | OBL link |
