Pickerelweed
Pickerelweed is a perennial plant with thick, creeping rootstocks, and erect leathery leaves that grow in clusters. The plants are found along the margins of lakes, ponds, and streams in soft muddy bottoms, and can grow in a variety of types of water up to 2-1/2 feet deep. They often grow over 3 feet tall, with leaves almost 5 inches wide at the widest point, and twice as long as wide. When in bloom, the plant has a beautiful flowering spike of purplish to violet flowers.