Potamogeton pusillusL.

Lesser Pondweedlesser pondweedsmall pondweed

WFO wfo-0000769966 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Potamogeton pusillus, photographed by chiuluan
fig. a chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-02-09 / obs. 179387522

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.

The specimen a real sheet, in a real collection

Herbarium
The New York Botanical Garden
Accession
288830
Filed as
Potamogeton pusillus var. interruptus (Kit.) J.Presl & C.Presl
Det. by
R. R. Haynes 1981-01-01
Collected
S. Watson 1869-07
Origin
US
The sheet
View the digitised specimen (CC BY 4.0)

A real pressed plant, in a real collection, under the accession number above. Not an illustration of one. The holding institution does not serve this sheet’s image to third parties, so there is no photograph here. The record is real and the link goes to it. Where we hold no openly licensed sheet for a species this section is simply absent, and where a sheet never recorded who determined it, that field stays empty rather than being filled in. Roughly half of all herbarium sheets never recorded a determiner, which is ordinary.

Native range 205 botanical countries

Regions where Potamogeton pusillus is native: Algeria, Azores, Botswana, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Caprivi Strip, DR Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Free State, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Libya, Madeira, Malawi, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Altay, Buryatiya, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Chita, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Irkutsk, Japan, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk, Kirgizstan, Krasnoyarsk, Lebanon-Syria, Manchuria, Mongolia, Nansei-shoto, North Caucasus, Oman, Palestine, Primorye, Qinghai, Saudi Arabia, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Tuva, Uzbekistan, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, Yemen, Assam, India, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, West Himalaya, 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, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kriti, 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, Alabama, Alaska, Alberta, Arizona, Arkansas, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Greenland, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Prince Edward I., Québec, Rhode I., Saskatchewan, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yukon, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Bolivia, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Chile Central, Chile North, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela AlgeriaBotswanaCape ProvincesCaprivi StripDR CongoEgyptEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaFree StateKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLesothoLibyaMalawiMauritaniaMoroccoMozambiqueNamibiaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaUgandaZambiaZimbabweAfghanistanAltayBuryatiyaChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastChitaCyprusEast Aegean Is.Inner MongoliaIranIraqIrkutskJapanKazakhstanKhabarovskKirgizstanKrasnoyarskLebanon-SyriaManchuriaMongoliaNorth CaucasusOmanPalestinePrimoryeQinghaiSaudi ArabiaTadzhikistanTaiwanTibetTranscaucasusTürkiyeTurkmenistanTuvaUzbekistanWest SiberiaXinjiangYakutiyaYemenAssamIndiaMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesWest HimalayaAlbaniaAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBelgiumBulgariaCentral European RussiaCorseCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandItalyKritiKrymNetherlandsNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandPortugalRomaniaSiciliaSouth European RussiaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraineAlabamaAlaskaAlbertaArizonaArkansasBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutFloridaGeorgiaGreenlandIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineManitobaMarylandMassachusettsMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaOhioOklahomaOntarioOregonPennsylvaniaPrince Edward I.QuébecSaskatchewanSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingYukonArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestBoliviaBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralChile CentralChile NorthColombiaCosta RicaEcuadorGuatemalaHaitiHondurasNicaraguaPeruUruguayVenezuela AzoresCanary Is.Cape VerdeMadeiraNansei-shotoBalearesSardegnaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaRhode I.
Native distribution of Potamogeton pusillus, 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
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Alaska ASK
Alberta ABT
Arizona ARI
Arkansas ARK
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Colorado COL
Connecticut CNT
Delaware DEL
District of Columbia WDC
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Greenland GNL
Idaho IDA
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Iowa IOW
Kansas KAN
Kentucky KTY
Louisiana LOU
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Mississippi MSI
Missouri MSO
Montana MNT
Nebraska NEB
Nevada NEV
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New Mexico NWM
New York NWY
North Carolina NCA
North Dakota NDA
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Ohio OHI
Oklahoma OKL
Ontario ONT
Oregon ORE
Pennsylvania PEN
Prince Edward I. PEI
Québec QUE
Rhode I. RHO
Saskatchewan SAS
South Carolina SCA
South Dakota SDA
Tennessee TEN
Texas TEX
Utah UTA
Vermont VER
Virginia VRG
Washington WAS
West Virginia WVA
Wisconsin WIS
Wyoming WYO
Yukon YUK
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Altay ALT
Buryatiya BRY
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Chita CTA
Cyprus CYP
East Aegean Is. EAI
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Iraq IRQ
Irkutsk IRK
Japan JAP
Kazakhstan KAZ
Khabarovsk KHA
Kirgizstan KGZ
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Lebanon-Syria LBS
Manchuria CHM
Mongolia MON
Nansei-shoto NNS
North Caucasus NCS
Oman OMA
Palestine PAL
Primorye PRM
Qinghai CHQ
Saudi Arabia SAU
Tadzhikistan TZK
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Turkmenistan TKM
Tuva TVA
Uzbekistan UZB
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK
Yemen YEM
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
Iceland ICE
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
Kriti KRI
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
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Azores AZO
Botswana BOT
Canary Is. CNY
Cape Provinces CPP
Cape Verde CVI
Caprivi Strip CPV
DR Congo ZAI
Egypt EGY
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Lesotho LES
Libya LBY
Madeira MDR
Malawi MLW
Mauritania MTN
Morocco MOR
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Northern Provinces TVL
Rwanda RWA
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Bolivia BOL
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Chile Central CLC
Chile North CLN
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Ecuador ECU
Guatemala GUA
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Nicaragua NIC
Peru PER
Uruguay URU
Venezuela VEN
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
India IND
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
West Himalaya WHM

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 252 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low -18.6 °C -3.7 °C 13.7 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 20.9 °C 25.0 °C 30.9 °C
Annual rainfall 402 mm 854 mm 2,013 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 19 mm 127 mm 284 mm

It is found where winters are severely cold. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 252 research-grade observations of Potamogeton pusillus 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 59 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 pusilla (L.) Bubani
  • Potamogeton aschersonii A.Benn.
  • Potamogeton aschersonii f. pusilloides Hagstr.
  • Potamogeton badius Hagstr.
  • Potamogeton berteroanus Phil.
  • Potamogeton caespitosus Humn.
  • Potamogeton compressus var. elongatus Wahlenb.
  • Potamogeton denticulatus Link
  • Potamogeton dualis Hagstr.
  • Potamogeton exiguus Hagstr.
  • Potamogeton gracilis Fr.
  • Potamogeton lateralis f. incompletus Hagstr.
  • Potamogeton lateralis f. subcompletus Hagstr.
  • Potamogeton millardii Hesl.-Harr.
  • Potamogeton panormitanus Biv.
  • Potamogeton panormitanus var. major G.Fisch.
  • Potamogeton panormitanus var. minor Biv.
  • Potamogeton panormitanus var. minor Biv. ex Guss.
  • Potamogeton pusilliformis Hagstr.
  • Potamogeton pusillus prol. panormitanus (Biv.) Graebn.
  • Potamogeton pusillus subsp. argentinus A.Benn.
  • Potamogeton pusillus subsp. panormitanus (Biv.) Schinz & R.Keller
  • Potamogeton pusillus subsp. pusillus
  • Potamogeton pusillus subsp. sturrockii A.Benn.

and 35 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.