Potamogeton crispusL.

Curled Pondweedcurled pondweedcurly pondweedcurly-leaf pondweed

WFO wfo-0000769780 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Potamogeton crispus, photographed by Марина Садыкова
fig. a Марина Садыкова, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-12 / obs. 205694493

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 100 botanical countries

Regions where Potamogeton crispus is native: Algeria, Botswana, Cape Provinces, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Libya, Malawi, Mozambique, Northern Provinces, Sudan-South Sudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Altay, Buryatiya, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Chita, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Irkutsk, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Lebanon-Syria, Manchuria, Mongolia, Nansei-shoto, North Caucasus, Palestine, Primorye, Qinghai, Sakhalin, Sinai, Tadzhikistan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Tuva, Uzbekistan, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sumatera, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Tasmania, Albania, Austria, Baleares, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Krym, Netherlands, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine AlgeriaBotswanaCape ProvincesEgyptEswatiniEthiopiaFree StateKwaZulu-NatalLibyaMalawiMozambiqueNorthern ProvincesSudan-South SudanZambiaZimbabweAfghanistanAltayBuryatiyaChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastChitaInner MongoliaIranIraqIrkutskJapanKazakhstanKirgizstanKrasnoyarskLebanon-SyriaManchuriaMongoliaNorth CaucasusPalestinePrimoryeQinghaiSakhalinSinaiTadzhikistanTibetTranscaucasusTürkiyeTurkmenistanTuvaUzbekistanWest SiberiaXinjiangAssamBangladeshCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaLaosMyanmarNepalPakistanSumateraVietnamWest HimalayaTasmaniaAlbaniaAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBelgiumBulgariaCentral European RussiaCorseCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIrelandItalyKrymNetherlandsNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandPortugalRomaniaSiciliaSouth European RussiaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraine KoreaNansei-shotoBalearesSardegna
Native distribution of Potamogeton crispus, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Baleares BAL
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Corse COR
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
Krym KRY
Netherlands NET
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sardegna SAR
Sicilia SIC
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Altay ALT
Buryatiya BRY
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Chita CTA
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Iraq IRQ
Irkutsk IRK
Japan JAP
Kazakhstan KAZ
Kirgizstan KGZ
Korea KOR
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Lebanon-Syria LBS
Manchuria CHM
Mongolia MON
Nansei-shoto NNS
North Caucasus NCS
Palestine PAL
Primorye PRM
Qinghai CHQ
Sakhalin SAK
Sinai SIN
Tadzhikistan TZK
Tibet CHT
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Turkmenistan TKM
Tuva TVA
Uzbekistan UZB
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Botswana BOT
Cape Provinces CPP
Egypt EGY
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Libya LBY
Malawi MLW
Mozambique MOZ
Northern Provinces TVL
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
Cambodia CBD
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Laos LAO
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
Sumatera SUM
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Tasmania TAS AUSTRALASIA

Not drawn on the map: Great Britain. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Where it actually grows measured, from 1,991 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low -13.5 °C -5.3 °C 9.8 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 20.9 °C 26.2 °C 31.4 °C
Annual rainfall 435 mm 889 mm 1,936 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 32 mm 136 mm 285 mm

It is found where winters bring hard frost. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 1,991 research-grade observations of Potamogeton crispus that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one.

Also published as 36 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Buccaferrea crispata Bubani
  • Potamogeton austriacus Gand.
  • Potamogeton concinnitus A.Benn.
  • Potamogeton crenulatus D.Don
  • Potamogeton crispatus Wallman ex Rchb.
  • Potamogeton crispus f. angustifolius Fieber
  • Potamogeton crispus f. gemmifer Rchb.
  • Potamogeton crispus f. latifolius Fieber
  • Potamogeton crispus f. longifolius Fieber
  • Potamogeton crispus f. serrulatus (Opiz) Schrad. ex Rchb.
  • Potamogeton crispus f. vulgaris Fieber
  • Potamogeton crispus subsp. angustifolius Gaudin
  • Potamogeton crispus var. acutifolius Fieber
  • Potamogeton crispus var. gemmifer Rchb.
  • Potamogeton crispus var. laevis Merino
  • Potamogeton crispus var. macrorrhynchus (Gand.) Asch. & Graebn.
  • Potamogeton crispus var. najadoides Graebn.
  • Potamogeton crispus var. obtusifolius Fieber
  • Potamogeton crispus var. phialiensis Post
  • Potamogeton crispus var. planifolius Klett & Richt.
  • Potamogeton crispus var. planifolius G.Mey.
  • Potamogeton crispus var. serratus Gray
  • Potamogeton crispus var. serrulatus Schrad. ex Rchb.
  • Potamogeton crispus var. sinuatus Fr.

and 12 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.