Species Overview

Pickerelweed is a very common and widely recognized native. It occurs throughout Florida and flowers year-round. It is a prolific grower and can cover large areas.

View the herbarium specimen image from the University of Florida Herbarium Digital Imaging Projects.

For brief control information, see Efficacy of Herbicide Active Ingredients Against Aquatic Weeds by K. Langeland, M. Netherland, and W. Haller.

Species Characteristics

Pickerelweed typically grows to about 2 or 3 feet tall. Its leaves are large (up to 5 inches wide) and are usually twice as long. Leaf shapes are variable, but are usually lance-shaped. They may have either a distinctly heart-shaped face or a rounded face. The easiest way to recognize pickerelweed is by its spike of violet-blue flowers. Uncommonly the flowers are white. Many small individual flowers form this flowering spike. The leaf and the flower spike arise from the same stem. Without flowers, pickerelweed can be confused with Sagittaria latifolia, common arrowhead. To distinguish between the two, look at the leaf lobes. Common arrowhead has pointed lobes on its arrow-shaped leaves. Pickerelweed has heart-shaped or rounded lobes on its lance-shaped leaves. Pickerelweed is a common native of Florida. It has

• a large flowering spike of violet blue or white flowers.
• heart-shaped leaves with rounded lobes.
• Its large leaves are about twice as long as they are wide.

Impacts