Plant that has adapted to living in an aquatic environment
The flower of Nymphaea alba , a species of water lily
Bud of Nelumbo nucifera , an aquatic plant.
Aquatic plants also referred to as hydrophytes [ 1] are vascular plants and non-vascular plants[ 2] that have adapted to live in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater ). In lakes , rivers and wetlands , aquatic vegetations provide cover for aquatic animals such as fish , amphibians and aquatic insects , create substrate for benthic invertebrates , produce oxygen via photosynthesis , and serve as food for some herbivorous wildlife.[ 3] Familiar examples of aquatic plants include waterlily , lotus , duckweeds , mosquito fern , floating heart , water milfoils , mare's tail , water lettuce , water hyacinth , and algae.[ 4]
Aquatic plants require special adaptations for prolonged inundation in water, and for floating at the water surface. The most common adaptation is the presence of lightweight internal packing cells, aerenchyma , but floating leaves and finely dissected leaves are also common.[ 5] [ 6] [ 7] Aquatic plants only thrive in water or in soil that is frequently saturated , and are therefore a common component of swamps and marshlands .[ 8]
^ "Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words" . Dictionary.com . Retrieved 2024-12-11 .
^ "What Are Aquatic Plants and Algae | manoa.hawaii.edu/ExploringOurFluidEarth" . manoa.hawaii.edu . Retrieved 2024-12-11 .
^ "Macrophytes as Indicators of freshwater marshes in Florida" (PDF) . Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-04-05 .
^ "Aquatic Plants - Definition, Types, and Importance of Aquatic Plants" . Toppr-guides . 2019-11-05. Retrieved 2024-12-11 .
^ Sculthorpe, C. D. 1967. The Biology of Aquatic Vascular Plants. Reprinted 1985 Edward Arnold, by London.
^ Hutchinson, G. E. 1975. A Treatise on Limnology, Vol. 3, Limnological Botany. New York: John Wiley.
^ Cook, C.D.K. (ed). 1974. Water Plants of the World. Dr W Junk Publishers, The Hague. ISBN 90-6193-024-3 .
^ Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p.