Pontederia is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds.

Pontederia is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud.

[citation needed] The genus was named by Linnaeus in honour of the Italian botanist Giulio Pontedera.

[1] Pontederia plants have large waxy leaves, succulent stems and a thick pad of fibrous roots.

There is a species of bee (Dufourea novaeangliae) that exclusively visits Pontederia cordata;[citation needed] waterfowl also eat the fruit of the plant.