Aquatic plants — also called hydrophytic plants or hydrophytes — are plants that have adapted to living in or on aquatic environments. Because living on or under water surface requires numerous special adaptations, aquatic plants can only grow in water or permanently saturated soil. Aquatic vascular plants can be ferns or angiosperms (from a variety of families, including among the monocots and dicots). Seaweeds are not vascular plants but multicellular marine algae, and therefore not typically included in the category of aquatic plants. As opposed to plants types such as mesophytes and xerophytes, hydrophytes do not have a problem in retaining water due to the abundance of water in its environment. This means the plant has less need to regulate transpiration
Wild rice
Wild rice is any of the four species of plants that make up the genus Zizania (common names: Canada rice, Indian rice, and water oats), a group of grasses that grow in shallow water in small lakes and slow-flowing streams; often, only the flowering head of wild rice rises above the water. The genus is closely related to true rice, genus Oryza, which is also a grass, and shares the tribe Oryzeae. Three species of wild rice are native to North America
Wild rice
The water caltrop or water chestnut is either of two species of the genus Trapa: Trapa natans and Trapa bicornis. Both species are floating annual aquatic plants, growing in slow-moving water up to 5 meters deep, native to warm temperate parts of Eurasia and Africa. They bear ornately shaped fruits that resemble the head of a bull, each containing a single very large starchy seed. It has been cultivated in China for at least 3,000 years for these seeds, which are boiled and sold as an occasional streetside snack in the south of that country.
Water-caltrops
Eleocharis dulcis
The Chinese water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis; synonyms E. equisetina, E. indica, E. plantaginea, E. plantaginoides, E. tuberosa, E. tumida), more often called simply the water chestnut, is a grass-like sedge grown for its edible corms. It has tube-shaped, leafless green stems that grow to about 1.5 metres.
Eleocharis dulcis Blanco
Nelumbo nucifera
Nelumbo nucifera is known by a number of common names, including Indian lotus, sacred lotus, bean of India, and sacred water-lily. Botanically, Nelumbo nucifera (Gaertn.) may also be referred to by its former names, Nelumbium speciosum (Wild.) or Nymphaea nelumbo. This plant is an aquatic perennial. Under favorable circumstances its seeds may remain viable for many years.
flower of Nelumbo nucifera at Botanic Garden, Adelaide, South Australia.
Ipomoea aquatica
Ipomoea aquatica is a semi-aquatic tropical plant grown as a leaf vegetable. Its precise natural distribution is unknown due to extensive cultivation, with the species found throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world.
N Ipoa
Watercress
Watercresses (Nasturtium officinale, N. microphyllum; formerly Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum, R. microphylla) are fast-growing, aquatic or semi-aquatic, perennial plants native from Europe to central Asia, and one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by human beings. These plants are members of the Family Brassicaceae or cabbage family, botanically related to garden cress and mustard — all noteworthy for a peppery, tangy flavour.
The hollow stems of watercress are floating and the leaves are pinnately compound. Watercresses produce small white and green flowers in clusters.
The Watercress beds in Warnford, Hampshire
Taro
Taro (from Tahitian or other Polynesian languages), more rarely kalo (from Hawaiian) and gabi in The Philippines, is a tropical plant grown primarily as a vegetable food for its edible corm, and secondarily as a leaf vegetable. It is considered a staple in oceanic cultures. It is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants.[1] Taro is closely related to Xanthosoma and Caladium, plants commonly grown as ornamentals, and like them it is sometimes loosely called elephant ear. In its raw form the plant is toxic due to the presence of calcium oxalate,[2][3] although the toxin is destroyed by cooking[4] or can be removed by steeping taro roots in cold water overnight
Colocasia esculenta, Maori name taro. Plants growing at Auckland, New Zealand.
Rice
Rice is a cereal foodstuff which forms an important part of the diet of many people worldwide and as such it is a staple food for many.
Domesticated rice comprises two species of food crops in the Oryza genus of the Poaceae ("true grass") family: Asian rice, Oryza sativa is native to tropical and subtropical southern Asia; African rice, Oryza glaberrima, is native to West Africa.
Bulrush
Bulrush (in most modern usages of British English), Typha (reedmace or cattail)
Bulrush (in American English and older botanical usages in British English), one of several larger sedges, typically of the following genera
Water-pepper
Water-pepper or Water pepper (Persicaria hydropiper, syn. Polygonum hydropiper) is a plant of the family Polygonaceae. It grows in damp places and shallow water; a native of the temperate zones of the Northern hemisphere. It has some use as a spice because of its pungent flavour.
Wasabi
Wasabi (Japanese: ???,??? , ?? (originally written ???); Wasabia japonica , Cochlearia wasabi, or Eutrema japonica) is a member of the Brassicaceae family, which includes cabbages, horseradish and mustard. Known as "Japanese horseradish", its root is used as a spice and has an extremely strong flavor. Its hotness is more akin to that of a hot mustard than the capsaicin in a chili pepper, producing vapors that irritate the nasal passages more than the tongue. The plant grows naturally along stream beds in mountain river valleys in Japan. There are also other species used, such as W. koreana, and W. tetsuigi. The two main cultivars in the marketplace are W. japonica cv. 'Daruma' and cv. 'Mazuma', but there are many others.
Totora (plant)
Totora (Schoenoplectus californicus ssp. tatora) is a subspecies of the giant bulrush sedge. It is found in South America - notably on Lake Titicaca - and on Easter island in the Pacific Ocean. The genus Schoenoplectus is closely related to Scirpus and sometimes included therein.
Some people say that totora plants are a main food of the Uros.
Water hyacinth
The seven species of water hyacinth comprise the genus Eichhornia. Water hyacinth is a free-floating perennial aquatic plant native to tropical South America. With broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves, water hyacinth may rise above the surface of the water as much as 1 meter in height. The leaves are 10-20 cm across, and float above the water surface. They have long, spongy and bulbous stalks. The feathery, freely hanging roots are purple-black. An erect stalk supports a single spike of 8-15 conspicuously attractive flowers, mostly lavender to pink in colour with six petals. When not in bloom, water hyacinth may be mistaken for frog's-bit
Lemnaoideae
Lemnaceae is a family of flowering plants, also known as the duckweed family, as it contains the duckweeds or water lentils. Since duckweeds are now considered to be a branch of the arum or aroid family (Araceae), the name 'Lemnaceae' is rapidly falling out of use among taxonomists, who treat it as a subfamily called Lemnoideae.
Wild rice
Wild rice is any of the four species of plants that make up the genus Zizania (common names: Canada rice, Indian rice, and water oats), a group of grasses that grow in shallow water in small lakes and slow-flowing streams; often, only the flowering head of wild rice rises above the water. The genus is closely related to true rice, genus Oryza, which is also a grass, and shares the tribe Oryzeae. Three species of wild rice are native to North America
Wild riceThe water caltrop or water chestnut is either of two species of the genus Trapa: Trapa natans and Trapa bicornis. Both species are floating annual aquatic plants, growing in slow-moving water up to 5 meters deep, native to warm temperate parts of Eurasia and Africa. They bear ornately shaped fruits that resemble the head of a bull, each containing a single very large starchy seed. It has been cultivated in China for at least 3,000 years for these seeds, which are boiled and sold as an occasional streetside snack in the south of that country.
Water-caltropsEleocharis dulcis
The Chinese water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis; synonyms E. equisetina, E. indica, E. plantaginea, E. plantaginoides, E. tuberosa, E. tumida), more often called simply the water chestnut, is a grass-like sedge grown for its edible corms. It has tube-shaped, leafless green stems that grow to about 1.5 metres.
Eleocharis dulcis BlancoNelumbo nucifera
Nelumbo nucifera is known by a number of common names, including Indian lotus, sacred lotus, bean of India, and sacred water-lily. Botanically, Nelumbo nucifera (Gaertn.) may also be referred to by its former names, Nelumbium speciosum (Wild.) or Nymphaea nelumbo. This plant is an aquatic perennial. Under favorable circumstances its seeds may remain viable for many years.
flower of Nelumbo nucifera at Botanic Garden, Adelaide, South Australia.Ipomoea aquatica
Ipomoea aquatica is a semi-aquatic tropical plant grown as a leaf vegetable. Its precise natural distribution is unknown due to extensive cultivation, with the species found throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world.
N IpoaWatercress
Watercresses (Nasturtium officinale, N. microphyllum; formerly Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum, R. microphylla) are fast-growing, aquatic or semi-aquatic, perennial plants native from Europe to central Asia, and one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by human beings. These plants are members of the Family Brassicaceae or cabbage family, botanically related to garden cress and mustard — all noteworthy for a peppery, tangy flavour.
The hollow stems of watercress are floating and the leaves are pinnately compound. Watercresses produce small white and green flowers in clusters.
The Watercress beds in Warnford, HampshireTaro
Taro (from Tahitian or other Polynesian languages), more rarely kalo (from Hawaiian) and gabi in The Philippines, is a tropical plant grown primarily as a vegetable food for its edible corm, and secondarily as a leaf vegetable. It is considered a staple in oceanic cultures. It is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants.[1] Taro is closely related to Xanthosoma and Caladium, plants commonly grown as ornamentals, and like them it is sometimes loosely called elephant ear. In its raw form the plant is toxic due to the presence of calcium oxalate,[2][3] although the toxin is destroyed by cooking[4] or can be removed by steeping taro roots in cold water overnight
Colocasia esculenta, Maori name taro. Plants growing at Auckland, New Zealand.Rice
Rice is a cereal foodstuff which forms an important part of the diet of many people worldwide and as such it is a staple food for many.
Domesticated rice comprises two species of food crops in the Oryza genus of the Poaceae ("true grass") family: Asian rice, Oryza sativa is native to tropical and subtropical southern Asia; African rice, Oryza glaberrima, is native to West Africa.
Bulrush
Bulrush (in most modern usages of British English), Typha (reedmace or cattail)
Bulrush (in American English and older botanical usages in British English), one of several larger sedges, typically of the following genera
Water-pepper
Water-pepper or Water pepper (Persicaria hydropiper, syn. Polygonum hydropiper) is a plant of the family Polygonaceae. It grows in damp places and shallow water; a native of the temperate zones of the Northern hemisphere. It has some use as a spice because of its pungent flavour.
WasabiWasabi (Japanese: ???,??? , ?? (originally written ???); Wasabia japonica , Cochlearia wasabi, or Eutrema japonica) is a member of the Brassicaceae family, which includes cabbages, horseradish and mustard. Known as "Japanese horseradish", its root is used as a spice and has an extremely strong flavor. Its hotness is more akin to that of a hot mustard than the capsaicin in a chili pepper, producing vapors that irritate the nasal passages more than the tongue. The plant grows naturally along stream beds in mountain river valleys in Japan. There are also other species used, such as W. koreana, and W. tetsuigi. The two main cultivars in the marketplace are W. japonica cv. 'Daruma' and cv. 'Mazuma', but there are many others.
Totora (plant)Totora (Schoenoplectus californicus ssp. tatora) is a subspecies of the giant bulrush sedge. It is found in South America - notably on Lake Titicaca - and on Easter island in the Pacific Ocean. The genus Schoenoplectus is closely related to Scirpus and sometimes included therein.
Some people say that totora plants are a main food of the Uros.
Water hyacinthThe seven species of water hyacinth comprise the genus Eichhornia. Water hyacinth is a free-floating perennial aquatic plant native to tropical South America. With broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves, water hyacinth may rise above the surface of the water as much as 1 meter in height. The leaves are 10-20 cm across, and float above the water surface. They have long, spongy and bulbous stalks. The feathery, freely hanging roots are purple-black. An erect stalk supports a single spike of 8-15 conspicuously attractive flowers, mostly lavender to pink in colour with six petals. When not in bloom, water hyacinth may be mistaken for frog's-bit
LemnaoideaeLemnaceae is a family of flowering plants, also known as the duckweed family, as it contains the duckweeds or water lentils. Since duckweeds are now considered to be a branch of the arum or aroid family (Araceae), the name 'Lemnaceae' is rapidly falling out of use among taxonomists, who treat it as a subfamily called Lemnoideae.