Water-Plantain Family:-

Water-Plantain Family plant table with its Common Name - Botanical Name. Flowering Months Range. Habitat with link to that Wild Flower Habitat Gallery:-

Common Name

Botanical Name

Flowering Months

Habitat

Arrow-Head

(Old World Arrowhead)

Sagittaria sagittifolia

July-August

A perennial herb of shallow, still or slowly flowing, calcareous and eutrophic water. In major rivers it may be present only as submerged leaves, but in ditches, lakes, ponds and canals it often produces emergent leaves and flowers. It perennates as tubers produced on stolons in the leaf axils. Lowland.

Female Flowers in September

Flowers in 18 September

Leaf in 18 September

Foliage in 18 September

Male Flower from Staplehurst in Kent on 24 August

Flowers and Seeds from Staplehurst on 24 August

Juvenile Fruiting Head from Staplehurst on 24 August

Juvenile Fruiting Heads from Staplehurst on 24 August

Form at Staplehurst on 24 August

Foliage from Buckinghamshire. Photo from BritishFlora

Floating Foliage in slow-moving river from Buckinghamshire. Photo from BritishFlora

Form from Buckinghamshire. Photo from BritishFlora

Common Water-Plantain

(American Waterplantain)

Alisma plantago-aquatica

June-August

A perennial herb growing on exposed mud at the shallow edge of still or slow-flowing waters, or in marshes and swamps. It is confined to mesotrophic or eutrophic habitats. Plants fruit prolifically, and the species is a frequent colonist of newly cleaned ditches and recently flooded mineral workings. Generally lowland, but reaching 405 m at Dock Tarn (Cumberland).

Flower

Flower

Flowers

Flowers and Flower Buds

Form at Shorne

Form at Shorne

Flowers in Buckinghamshire. Photo from BritishFlora

Form

Form in Buckinghamshire. Photo from BritishFlora

Floating Water-Plantain

Luronium natans

July-August

A stoloniferous perennial of mesotrophic or oligotrophic lakes, pools and slow-flowing rivers, and abandoned or little-used canals. In deep water it persists as rosettes of submerged leaves, sometimes with cleistogamous flowers, but it produces floating leaves and flowers freely in shallower water or on exposed mud. 0-450 m (Bugeilyn, Monts.).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Lesser Water-Plantain

Baldellia ranunculoides

May-August

This perennial herb is restricted to habitats at the water`s edge, where potential competitors are restricted by fluctuating water levels, disturbance or moderate exposure. It usually grows in mildly to strongly calcareous or brackish waters, over a range of organic or inorganic substrates. 0-320 m (W. of Libanus, Brecs.).

Flower from Dungeness in Kent on 27 July

Flowers from Kenfig Burrows on 11 July

Form at Kenfig Burrows on 11 July

Fruit at Kenfig Burrows on 11 July

Form with Flowers and Fruit at Kenfig Burrows on 11 July

Fruits at Kenfig Burrows on 11 July

Form in New Forest. Photo from BritishFlora

Narrow-leaved Water-Plantain

Alisma lanceolatum

June-August

An emergent perennial herb, found in shallow water or on exposed mud at the edge of a wide range of water bodies, although in many areas it is particularly frequent in canals. It is most frequent in eutrophic, calcareous water and rooted in a fine substrate. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Ribbon-Leaved Water-Plantain

Alisma gramineum

June

This short-lived perennial aquatic is now confined to two sites in the UK: a shallow lake in Worcestershire, where it has been known for many years, and a drainage channel in Lincolnshire, where it was rediscovered in 1991 after a 20 year absence from the site. It was formerly recorded from two other sites in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire in the 1970s, but has disappeared from both sites. This aquatic plantain is rare and sporadic in mainland Europe, where it is probably declining. Populations fluctuate markedly from year to year, but the reasons are largely unknown.

The plant is currently protected by Schedule 8 of the WCA.

Review of conservation work from 1991-2005

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Star-Fruit

Damasonium alisma

June-July

This annual grows on acidic mud by small ponds where the habitat is kept open by fluctuating water levels and disturbance by grazing animals. Its sites are usually flooded in winter but may be wet or dry in summer. The seeds appear to persist in a long-lived seed bank. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form