Potamogeton sulcatus

Pondweed at Tennent, ACT

Potamogeton sulcatus at Tennent, ACT - 8 Jun 2015
Request use of media

Identification history

Potamogeton sulcatus 9 Feb 2022 MichaelBedingfield
Potamogeton sp (cheesemanii or sulcatus) 18 Jan 2021 MichaelBedingfield
Potamogeton sp. 12 Apr 2017 BettyDonWood
Potamogeton sp. 12 Apr 2017 BettyDonWood

Identify this sighting


Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.

User's notes

In a dam, on the lower slopes of Mt Tennant.

6 comments

BettyDonWood wrote:
   13 Apr 2017
The flower spikes are too far away for me to count the number of flowers.
   9 Feb 2022
See sighting 4423329
JaneR wrote:
   9 Feb 2022
Hi Michael, the close up (second photo) has some Ottelia leaves in it. Jane
   9 Feb 2022
Thanks Jane. Should I put it in as a separate sighting?
JaneR wrote:
   9 Feb 2022
Even in the main photo, most of the leaves are clearly (to me) Ottelia leaves: one leaf in the centre looks probably Potamogeton. The 'flowering spikes' are (I think) dead stems of Eleocharis/Juncus projecting above the water.
i have noticed that, at least in farm dams, these two species (Potamogeton sulcatus and Ottelia ovalifolia) can co-occur. However, they have overlapping but slightly different depth preferences/tolerances, with Ottelia usually in shallower conditions than Potamogeton. Likely Potamogeton is favoured at the moment, after all the recent rains, whereas back in 2017, conditions favoured Ottelia.
Ottelia seems to have quite specific germination conditions, germinating underwater, in about 15-30 cm water (my observations). The young plants are completely submerged and have long thin leaves a bit like Vallisneria, except much smaller.
The lovely showy flowers of Ottelia don't play any part in reproduction. Instead, Ottelia has another type of flower (fully submerged), that self-pollinates.

A separate sighting might be a good idea
   11 Feb 2022
We are looking at the same dam as sighting 4423329 with better photographs. I'll remove the 2nd photo & add a separate sighting.

Please Login or Register to comment.

Nearby sightings

Page 1 of 1 - image sightings only

Location information

Sighting information

Species information

Record quality

  • Images or audio
  • More than one media file
  • Verified by an expert moderator
  • Nearby sighting(s) of same species
  • GPS evidence of location
  • Description
  • Additional attributes
2,203,459 sightings of 20,917 species in 9,213 locations from 12,749 contributors
CCA 3.0 | privacy
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land and acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.