Pontederiaceae
Pickerel-Weed Family
The Pontederiaceae family (Pickerel-Weed Family) is a botanical family placed in the order Commelinales. In the SASYA catalogue it spans 4 species across 3 genera. Its members are predominantly herbs. Well-represented genera include Monochoria, Eichhornia and Pontederia. Several members are valued in traditional medicine. Familiar examples include Water Hyacinth, Leaf Pondweed and Pickerel Weed.
Browse all 4 species ↓
Broad, glossy, heart-shaped leaves on aquatic herbs, in one genus buoyed by a spongy, inflated leaf-stalk; showy, funnel-shaped flowers with six fused tepals last only a single day before wilting.
Water hyacinth's spongy, air-filled leaf-stalks let the whole plant float freely on the water surface, an adaptation that has made it one of the world's most aggressive invasive aquatic weeds.
Which Pontederiaceae species is this?
Answer what you can see and narrow it down to a single Pontederiaceae species.
To check whether a plant belongs to Pontederiaceae, compare the leaf arrangement, leaf type, flower symmetry, fruit type, and one distinctive marker together. A single feature can mislead; the family pattern is the combination.
Learn the full family-identification methodNotable members
Families that can look similar
Commelinaceae
Compare against Commelinaceae when the plant shares similar leaves, flowers, or fruit. Confirm by checking the full family pattern.
Compare CommelinaceaeAll 4 species in PONTEDERIACEAE
Identify any Pontederiaceae plant in seconds
Point your camera and SASYA names the species on-device — offline and private.
Download SASYA — Free