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| Elodea canadensis Michx. | Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| TAXONOMY | |||||||||
| Family: | Hydrocharitaceae | ||||||||
| Genus: | Elodea | ||||||||
| Species Synonyms: | Anacharis canadensis (Michx.) Planch. Anacharis canadensis var. planchonii (Caspary) Victorin Elodea brandegeeae St. John Elodea ioensis Wylie Elodea linearis (Rydb.) St. John Elodea planchonii Caspary Philotria canadensis (Michx.) Britt. Philotria linearis Rydb. |
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| Common Names: | Canada waterweed broad waterweed |
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| DISTRIBUTION | |||||||||
| Canada: | central to southern British Columbia, east-central and southeastern Saskatchewan – Manitoba – Ontario – southern Quebec – Nova Scotia | ||||||||
| Saskatchewan: | east-central and southeastern Saskatchewan; La Ronge – Cumberland House, Goodwater – Carievale | ||||||||
| Ecoregion: | Mixed Grassland, Moist Mixed Grassland, Aspen Parkland, Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Lowland, Mid-Boreal Upland, Churchill River Upland | ||||||||
| HABITAT | |||||||||
| Saskatchewan: | submersed aquatic in quiet, shallow waters | ||||||||
| Associated Species: | Myriophyllum spicatum, Potamogeton pusillus, Potamogeton richardsonii, Sagittaria sp., Schoenoplectus acutus ssp. acutus, Stuckenia filiformis ssp. filiformis, Utricularia macrorhiza | ||||||||
| RARITY STATUS | |||||||||
| Provincial
Status According to Harms (2003): |
Vulnerable |
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| Nature Conservancy Status: | G5 S1 |
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| Saskatchewan
Species at Risk Status: |
None |
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| COSEWIC Status: | None |
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| Elodea canadensis is vulnerable in Saskatchewan because it is rare or uncommon. It occurs in a relatively large range in the province but local population sizes vary. No immediate threats are known for this species. | |||||||||
| SPECIES DESCRIPTION | |||||||||
| Roots: | fibrous | ||||||||
| Stems: | perennial, slender creeping or erect, rooted in substrate, 30 – 100 cm long, simple or abundantly branched | ||||||||
| Leaves: | lower leaves opposite or whorled, middle leaves in whorls of 3, spreading or recurved, 5 – 15 mm long, 1.5 – 3 mm wide, linear to ovate, flat, terminal leaves crowded, flaccid, minutely serrate | ||||||||
| Inflorescence: | solitary, sessile, dioecious; staminate spathe 1 – 1.5 cm long, appearing pedunculate, inflated, apex bifid; pistillate spathe 1 – 2 cm long, cylindrical, apex bifid | ||||||||
| Flowers: | unisexual, usually projected to surface of water by elongate floral tube, sessile; corolla 3-merous white; staminate flowers several, pedicels long, perianth floating, sepals dark striate, stamens 9, all filaments connate forming a column, pollen in tetrads; pistillate flowers with a unilocular ovary, strap-shaped staminoidia 3, styles 3, hypanthium elongate and filiform | ||||||||
| Fruits: | capsule 6 mm long, ovoid to ellipsoid, dehiscing irregularly; seeds several, fusiform, glabrous | ||||||||
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