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It flowers during the summer, with showy spikes of 100 or more violet-blue flowers on held well above the leaves. Each flower is about 2-3 cm across and zygomorphic.
Distribution
It is native in North and South America, from Canada to Argentina. However, it has naturalised widely outside its native range and is officially a noxious weed in Australia and South Africa.
In Britain it was first recorded in Wimbourne, Dorset in 1949, though the Flora of Dorset states ‘rarely surviving for long,’ perhaps implying that this site has now gone.
Records exist for England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, but it is most often found along the south-coast of England, particularly in Surrey and Sussex.
Status
Records are certainly increasing, but this is likely to be because of deliberate introductions, rather than to a natural spread.
Future Work
Nothing appears to be known of which the many described varieties from the New World grow in the Great Britain and Ireland
Can all of the three of the tristylous morphs be found?
Is Pontederia cordata hardy enough to survive the hardest winters?
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