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| Aquatic plants are defined as plants that normally grow in water, in soil covered by water, or in soil that is normally saturated with water. These plants perform many important functions in maintaining a balanced aquatic environment. Aquatic plants can be classified into several broad groupings. | |
| One classification of aquatic plant is the free-floating water plant. These are plants which float on the surface providing shade for fish and combating the growth of algae. Examples of free-floating aquatics are the beautiful violet-flowered Water Hyacinth (pictured above left) and Water Lettuce. Unfortunately, both have escaped cultivation and become a serious weeds clogging waterways in the southern parts of the United States. |
 Pistia stratiotes - Water Lettuce, a floater |
| A second group is known as emergent plants. In emergent plants, leaf and flower production takes place mostly above the water such as with the Water Lily and the aquatic fern Marsilea. Water Lilies are deep water plants, growing in water 12 inches deep or more. Marsilea, commonly called the Four-leaf Water Clover, is a shallow water plant typically found in water depths of 6 inches or less. Some Water Lilies are viviparous, with new plantlets forming on the leaves of the parent plant. |
 Nymphaea sp. Water Lily Photos by: Andrew G. Seymour |
| Bog plants grow in constantly moist, but not totally submerged areas around the rim of bodies of water. Many carnivorous plants thrive in boggy and swampy areas. Cyperus plants also enjoy swampy conditions. This genus includes Cyperus papyrus, the plant used by ancient Egyptians for making writing paper. | |
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Another type of aquatic plant is the submerged aquatic, where leaf and flower production takes place mainly below the water surface. Oxygenating plants grow totally submerged and perform the important functions of producing oxygen, competing with algae for nutrients in the water, and providing a spawning area for fish. The flowers of Elodea, an oxygenator plant, are water-pollinated. Aquatic plants are, for the most part, secondarily adapted to the water. 1% of higher plants could be described as aquatic plants. |
 an oxygenator Photo by: Andrew G. Seymour |