Desirable Aquatic Plants

Cord grass (Spartina bakeri)	Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)
Cord grass has 3-6 feet tall culms that grow in large, dense clusters. One of the characteristics of this species of cord grass is its absence of creeping, scaly rhizomes. The roots of cord grass are an important food source for geese wintering along the Atlantic coast. The seeds are occasionally eaten by various ducks, and songbirds, but provide the main diet of the sharp-tailed and seaside sparrows.	The leaf of this plant has the shape of an upside-down heart; however, the most striking characteristic is the long cluster of numerous violet-blue flowers associated with each stem seen during the spring and summer. Growing 3–4 feet tall in shallow water, pickerelweed provides important habitat for fish, waterfowl and other aquatic animals.
Soft-stem bulrush (Scirpus validus)	Golden canna (Canna flaccida)
The stems of soft-stem bulrush are cylindrical in cross section, light-green colored, spongy in texture, and 0.8- 1.2 inches wide at the base, gradually tapering to a flower. The seeds are heavily utilized by all species of water fowl and by many marsh and songbirds.	The large oval to spear shaped leaves of this perennial are 3 feet long and 2 to 6 inches wide. The showy flowers are up to 2 inches long and yellow in color. Rare or infrequent in wet ditches, marshes and swamp margins of Florida.
Duck potato (Sagittaria lancifolia)	Soft rush (Juncus effusus)
Duck potato, also known as common arrowhead, has narrow lance-shaped leaves that grow as a rosette from a horizontal underground stem. The white flowers of duck potato, seen in the spring and summer months, are on stalks that often extend 12 inches above the leaves. In addition to its value as important fishery habitat, the seeds of this plant are consumed by waterfowl.	The pale-green hollow stems of soft rush are cylindrical, about 1/4 inch in diameter and up to 4 feet tall. Large clumping stands are common along the edges of freshwater marshes, ponds, lakes and low pasture lands. The seeds are utilized by waterfowl, while the other vegetative parts are sometimes browsed upon by deer as a late fall to early winter food item.