Piedmont Quillwort

Rare plant in Georgia. This perennial quillwort is in the class Isoetopsida and order Isoetales. They are considered "fern allies". Quillworts are mostly aquatic or semi-aquatic in clear ponds and slow-moving streams. Quillwort leaves are hollow and quill-like, arising from a central corm. They broaden to a swollen base up to 5 mm wide where they attach in clusters to a bulb-like, underground rhizome characteristic of most quillwort species. Quillwort species are very difficult to distinguish by general appearance. The best way to identify them is by examining the megaspores under a microscope.