Aquatic and insectivorous plants:
Acorus gramineus Araceae SWEET FLAG
Leaves up to one foot tall, about 1/4 inch wide, flatened and fanlike and crowded along short rhizomes. Leaves may be sweet scented like cinnamon. Flower spikes are about 1 inch long, not showy. Cultivar 'Variegatus' has cream and green striped leaves.
Azolla caroliniana Salviniaceae MOSQUITO FERN
Tiny, free floating perennial fern that forms clusters of soft leaves, each with a single fine root. Turns purplish-red in autumn. Useful for rapid, temporary cover in a new pond while other plants grow. Can be invasive - ? hardy in Ky.
Cyperus alternifolius Cyperaceae UMBRELLA PLANT
Grasslike plants topped with tufts of brownish flowers, often radiating like the rips of an umbrella. This species grows to 3 feet, best in shallow water up to about 6 inches below surface, will also grow terrestrial in moist soil. Must be overwintered indoors, not hardy in KY. Can propagate by inverting the flower heads into potting medium. Its cousin is C. papyrus, native to Africa, used in ancient Egypt for paper.
Dionaea muscipula Dionaeaceae VENUS FLYTRAP
Rosette of leaves up to 8 in long, usually shorter, flower stalk may reach 12 inches with small white flowers ½ inch wide. Each leaf has 2 flattened lobes with stiff spines along the margins. Minute glands secrete insect-attracting nectar, when insect alights it stimulates 3 hairs on each lobe and the trap closes. The nectar digests the insect by liquefying it. The leaf then opens and allow the hard undigested bits to be blown away. Native to bogs of the SE US but very sensitive to pollution. Becoming rare in the wild.
Drosera sp. Droseraceae SUNDEW, DAILY-DEW
Sticky glandular hairs on leaf surface attract and trap insects. Leaf slowly closes over prey. Leaves obovate to oblanceolate in a rosette. Plants are usually small (2-3 inches in diameter, but some species can reach 12 inches or more in diameter). Perennial, tropical to temperate climates mostly in Southern Hemisphere. Prefer highly acidic damp to wet soils.
Eichhornia crassipes Pontederiaceae WATER HYACINTH
Evergreen or semi-evergreen free floater forming rafts of foliage on spongy stalks. It flowers only in warmer conditions, 6 inch spikes of lilac flowers. Each plant has a foot-long root and spreads by stolons. Must be thinned occasionally or it will take over a water garden. It is a menace in tropical areas. Not hardy in KY. Noxious weed in deep south and west. Illegal to ship across state lines.
Equisetum hyemale Equisetaceae HORSETAIL, SCOURING RUSH
Evergreen, stems to 4 ft tall, slender, mostly unbranched, stem has a central cavity, furrowed, pointed strobilus (spikelike cone) at tip of stem, leaves scalelike and united to form a sheath around each node, deciduous. Primitive vascular plant that reproduces by spores. Rhizomatous, adapted to moist areas, used as an ornamental around pools and ponds. May be difficult to control. Stems contain silica, used in polishing thus the name, scouring rush. Hardy.
Lemna minor Lemnaceae DUCKWEED
Small, floating plants. Plant body (actually not a leaf) with a single rootlet, proliferates by offshoots that remain connected for a short time. Flowers rarely produced. Found worldwide. Food of water foul, also goldfish and coy will feed on duckweed.
Myriophyllum aquaticum Haloragaceae PARROT'S FEATHER
Deciduous perennial for any water depth, with stems covered in finely divided leaves. Stems can grow to 6 ft becoming woody at the base, and will extend above the surface of shallow water giving a softening effect to the water's edge. Must be thinned regularly. Marginally hardy in KY
Nasturtium officinale Brassicaceae WATER CRESS
Aquatic plant with creeping stems up to 30 inches long and dark green rounded leaf segments. Stems may become more erect as they mature. White roots form on the leaf nodes. Small white flowers are produced in racemes but are removed to encourage vegetative growth. Originally from Europe, now a well established water weed in much of the south. Used as a salad herb or cooked as a vegetable, especially popular in Asian dishes. Only marginally hardy in Kentucky.
Nymphaea spp. Nymphaeaceae WATER LILY
Tropical, subtropical, or temperate in origin. Deciduous (temperate)
to evergreen (tropical). Flowers either float on the surface (typical of
temperate species) or are held erect slightly above to water surface (tropical).
Most temperate species bloom during the day time, many tropical species
bloom at night. Many are fragrant. Temperate plant will survive
outdoors in winter pond, tropicals are usually grown as annuals. Foliage
is a round pad up to 12 inches in diameter. The petioles may be 5-6 feet
in length. Usually grow in soil filled pot placed 1-3 ft deep. Flower
color ranges from white to yellow to pink to purple. Some flowers may change
color with age. Water lilies must be divided periodically to maintain
vigor and flower production.
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Nymphoides sp. Gentianaceae YELLOW FRINGE, WATER SNOWFLAKE
Deciduous rhizomatous perennial with small, floating, mid-green leaves, often splashed with brown, up to 8 inches across but usually smaller. Small yellow or white flowers (depending on species, yellow=N. peltata and white=N. indica) are held 2-3 in above the water. Leaves much smaller than Nymphaea. Marginally hardy in KY. Best in water 6-18 in deep.
Pistia stratiotes Araceae WATER LETTUCE
Deciduous free-floating with slightly overlapping, velvety, pale green
leaves arranged like lettuce. Leaves are whitish green on the underside.
Produces tinu greenish flowers. Not hardy in KY.
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Pontederia cordata Pontederiaceae PICKEREL WEED
Aquatic perennial herb native to North and South America. Leaves thick, parallel veined with a long petiole, to 10 inches long and 6 inches wide, narrowly ovate with cordate base, flowers are blue in spikes. Grown in ponds and bog gardens in water 1 ft deep or less. Propagated by division.
Salvinia rotundifolia Salviniaceae FLOATING FERN
Hairy, one inch paired leaves on free floating plants, grouped again
into whorls of three. Color ranges from light green to purple. Do fine
in all depths of water-free floating. Many become invasive in warmer water.
Not hardy in KY.
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Sagittaria lancifolia Sarraceniaceae LANCELEAF ARROWHEAD
Leaves usually borne above water, sometimes submerged, grows to 6 ft tall, leaves may be linear, oval or elliptical up to 15 inches with sagittate base. Leaves are long, leathery, and pale green. White or purple flowers, 2 inches wide are produced in several whorls. Not hardy in KY.
Sarracenia purpurea Typhaceae PITCHER PLANT
Widespread in eastern North America, grows to 6 inches in height, The pitchers are slender at the basal rosette, rapidly becoming swollen higher. They are usually green with purple tints and the lid of the pitcher stands erect. Purple flowers appear in spring, purple or greenish purple and up to 2.5 inches wide. Plant prefers to grow in peat bogs or in wet soil near water. Insects are attracted to the foliage colors and slide down the slippery sides, drowning in the rainwater that accumulates at the bottom. Marginally hardy in KY.
Typha sp. Typhaceae CATTAIL
Deciduous perennial forming tufts of slender elegant foliage at the water's edge. Rust-brown flower spikes in late summer mature into decorative, rounded seed heads. Staminate flowers (male) produced above the female flowers in the spike. Female flowers persist while males do not. Grows either in shallow water or wet soil. Height to 3-6 feet, T. latifolia native and hardy in KY, Dwarf Cattail, T. minima is not hardy in Ky..
