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.

[1] "Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2024-12-11.

[2] "What Are Aquatic Plants and Algae | manoa.hawaii.edu/ExploringOurFluidEarth". manoa.hawaii.edu. Retrieved 2024-12-11.

[EPA-3] "Macrophytes as Indicators of freshwater marshes in Florida" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-04-05.

[4] "Aquatic Plants - Definition, Types, and Importance of Aquatic Plants". Toppr-guides. 2019-11-05. Retrieved 2024-12-11.

[Sculthorpe-5] Sculthorpe, C. D. 1967. The Biology of Aquatic Vascular Plants. Reprinted 1985 Edward Arnold, by London.

[Hutchinson-6] Hutchinson, G. E. 1975. A Treatise on Limnology, Vol. 3, Limnological Botany. New York: John Wiley.

[7] Cook, C.D.K. (ed). 1974. Water Plants of the World. Dr W Junk Publishers, The Hague. ISBN 90-6193-024-3.

[Keddy-8] Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p.

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