Plants annual. Vegetative stems submersed with elongate inter-nodes only on plants in over 5 cm of water, or emersed and short. Flowering stems 2-24 cm, distal internode 1-11 cm. Sessile leaves forming basal rosette, blade linear to oblanceolate, thin or sometimes thickened, 3.1-6 cm × 3-5 mm. Petiolate leaves emersed; stipule 1-6 cm; petiole 2-13 cm; blade oblong to ovate, 1-5 cm × 4-33 mm, length equaling or greater than width; base truncate to cuneate, apex acute. Inflorescences 1-flowered; spathes 0.9-4.5 cm, glabrous. Flowers opening within 1 hour after dawn, wilting by midday; perianth blue or white, salverform, tube 15-44 mm, limbs essentially actinomorphic, lobes equal, narrowly elliptic, 5.2-26.3 mm, distal lobes yellow toward base; stamens unequal, lateral stamens 2.3-7.8 mm, central stamen 3.3-7.2 mm; filaments linear, glandular-pubescent; style glabrous. Seeds 9-14-winged, 0.5-0.8 × 0.2-0.6 mm. 2n = 14.

Flowering May--Nov. Shallow water or emersed at pond edges and in roadside ditches; 0--2000 m; Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo., Fla., Ill., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Miss., Mo., Nebr., N.Mex., Okla., S.Dak., Tenn., Tex.; Mexico; West Indies; Central America; South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Venezuela).

Personal observation of Heteranthera limosa suggests that it is best adapted for growth in water less than 5 cm deep and is a poor competitor with the closely related H. rotundifolia in deeper waters.

Plant: annual aquatic herb; vegetative stem submersed with elongate internodes, or emersed and short

Leaves: few, submersed, thickened, green on abaxial surface, linear to oblanceolate, obtuse at apex; petiolate leaves emersed, oblong to oval, cuneate to truncate at base, acute to obtuse at apex, 1-5 cm long, the petiole rigid

INFLORESCENCE: 1-flowered

Flowers: perianth salverform, blue or white, the tube 15-44 mm long, the lobes narrowly elliptic, obtuse at apex, 5.2-26.3 mm long, the upper lobes yellow toward base; stamens of two sizes, the lateral stamens 2.3-7.8 mm long, with yellow anthers 0.9-3.3 mm long; central stamen 3.3-7.2 mm long, with a purple or white anther 1.3-3.9 mm long; mature pollen remaining in tetrads

Fruit: an elongate capsule with longitudinal dehiscence. SEEDS many, 0.5-0.8 mm long, the testa with longitudinal wings and cross striae between wings

Misc: Ponds and ditches; up to 1500 m (4500 ft.); Mar.-Sep.

REFERENCES: Horn, Charles N. 1998 Pontederiaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. 30(2): 133.

Duration: Annual

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Submerged annual with glabrous branching stem with elongate internodes or emersed and short.

Leaves: Alternate, few linear to oblanceolate sessile leaves forming a rosette, submersed, thickened, green on lower surface, obtuse at apex, emersed leaves petiolate on rigid petiole, oblong to oval, cuneate to truncate at base, acute to obtuse at apex, 1-5 cm long.

Flowers: Solitary on elongated peduncle, with salverform perianth, blue or white, tube 15-44 mm long, lobes narrowly elliptic, obtuse at apex, 5-26 mm long, upper lobes yellow toward base, stamens of two sizes with white or purple anther.

Fruits: Elongate capsule with longitudinal dehiscence.

Ecology: Found in ponds or still water below 4,500 ft (1372 m); flowers March-September.

Distribution: n CA, s AZ, CO, NE, SD east to MN, IA, IL, KY, TN, MS, also in FL ; south to S. Amer.; also in Europe.

Notes: Distinguished from other Heteranthera by the shape of the leaves, the rigid petioles and emersed blades, and the perianth lobes of equal size.

Ethnobotany: Unknown

Etymology: Heteranthera means having different anthers, while limosa means of or pertaining to muddy or marshy places.

Synonyms: Pontederia limosa

Editor: SBuckley 2010, FSCoburn 2015

Aerial lvs emersed, the blade 1-5 cm long and about half as wide, oblong to ovate, acutish, with cuneate to truncate base; petioles to 1.5 dm; spathe folded, abruptly caudate-acuminate, 1-4.5 cm, enclosing 1 fl; fls purple to white, the perianth-tube 1.5-4.5 cm, the lobes 5-15 mm, about equally spreading, the 3 upper ones basally yellow; stamens subequal, with straight filaments, the lateral ones yellow, the central one purple or white; style glabrous; 2n=14. In shallow water at the edges of ponds and ditches, or wholly emersed on mud; Mississippi R. drainage from Ky. to Io. and S.D., s. to S. Amer.; also Calif. to Ariz. and w. Mex.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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