Pondweed

Pondweed / Canadian Waterweed (Elodea canadensis  )

Elodea canadensis (American waterweed or Canadian waterweed or pondweed) is a perennial aquatic plant, or submergent macrophyte, native to most of North America.[1][2][3] It has been introduced widely to regions outside its native range and was first recorded from the British Isles in about 1836.[4] Young plants initially start with a seedling stem with roots growing in mud at the bottom of the water; further adventitious roots are produced at intervals along the stem, which may hang free in the water or anchor into the bottom. It grows indefinitely at the stem tips, and single specimens may reach lengths of 3 m or more.

The leaves are bright green, translucent, oblong, 6–17 mm long and 1–4 mm broad, borne in whorls of three (rarely two or four) round the stem.[9] It lives entirely underwater, the only exception being the small white or pale purple flowers which float at the surface and are attached to the plant by delicate stalks.These stalks, or hypanthia, are the lower part of the petals joined to form a floral tube. This floral tube can be up to 30 centimeters (12 inches) in length, while only 1/25 inch (one millimeter) in width.[10] for a length to length to width ratio of 300. However, according to one article, this ratio can sometimes be as much as one thousand, [11] making this species, by a wide margin, "the skinniest of all flowers".

Reference : Wikipedia

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