Pickerel weed

pickerel weed
    n 1: American plant having spikes of blue flowers and growing in
         shallow water of streams and ponds [syn: {pickerelweed},
         {pickerel weed}, {wampee}, {Pontederia cordata}]
    

Pickerel \Pick"er*el\, n. [Dim. of {Pike}.] [Written also
   {pickerell}.]
   1. A young or small pike. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            Bet [better] is, quoth he, a pike than a pickerel.
                                                  --Chaucer.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Zool.)
      (a) Any one of several species of freshwater fishes of the
          genus {Esox}, esp. the smaller species.
      (b) The glasseye, or wall-eyed pike. See {Wall-eye}.
          [1913 Webster]

   Note: The federation, or chain, pickerel ({Esox reticulatus})
         and the brook pickerel ({Esox Americanus}) are the most
         common American species. They are used for food, and
         are noted for their voracity. About the Great Lakes the
         pike is called pickerel.
         [1913 Webster]

   {Pickerel weed} (Bot.), a blue-flowered aquatic plant
      ({Pontederia cordata}) having large arrow-shaped leaves.
      So called because common in slow-moving waters where
      pickerel are often found.
      [1913 Webster]