Pickerelweed

Description:

Many spiked clusters of violet-blue flowers stand 4 - 6 inches tall above this water borne plant. The individual flowers are 1/2 in long and has six petals. If you look closely two of the middle upper petal has two small yellow spots. The heart shaped leaves (4 - 10 inches long) rise from the underwater root system. Each leaf is indented at the base, rising into the heart shaped toothless leaf. This plant is often found in large mats growing in shallow water less than three feet deep.

Habitat:

Shallow pond along Bittern Marsh Trail in LLELA

Notes:

The green darner dragonfly and the black winged damselfly deposit eggs into the stem of this plant and the nymphs use this plant as the departure place when they emerge from their final nymphal exoskeleton. Pickerelweed provides a variety of foods for the wild foods gourmet. The young leaves can be harvested, chopped and added to salads or boiled for ten minutes and served with butter. The starchy seed can be eaten raw, added to granola or ground into flower as a nutritious addition to any diet. As with any wild food, make sure of a positive identification before sampling any food.