Hydrolea quadrivalvis Walter

Water Pod

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Water Pod is a native herbaceous perennial in the Hydrolea family (Hydroleaceae). It can be found throughout most of Alabama. Water Pod occurs in swamps and marshes, in slow moving streams, along the margins of ponds and lakes, and in wet roadside ditches. The stems are decumbent and rooting at the nodes in the lower portion and erect towards the tip. The stems are thick, green or reddish in color, and pubescent with spreading hairs. Leaves are alternate, petiolate, oblanceolate to lanceolate in outline, with entire, wavy margins. There are short, stiff spines in the axils of the leaves. Flowers are produced in short axillary cymes. The flowers are radially symmetrical with 5 linear, pubescent calyx lobes and 5 spreading blue corolla lobes. The corolla tube is short, white on the inside and green on the outside. The filamets are attached to the corolla tube. The anthers are blue with white pollen. The fruit is a capsule.—A. Diamond

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Native OBL (NWPL)

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