Pond Callitriche
Scientific name: Callitriche stagnalis
Family name: Callitrichaceae
MORPHOLOGY
Growth habit and size: perennial aquatic plant, rooted on the bottom and submerged, with a stem length of up to 40 cm.
Stem: long and creeping, with a few leaves gathered in rosettes.
Leaves: linear and elliptical, emerging from the water to form a dense carpet.
Flowers: small and without a corolla, borne at the axil of the leaves by a bract. They appear between April and October.
Fruits and seeds: small, round, sessile drupes. They turn greyish when ripe.
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT
Eurasian species present in all regions of Italy, from 0 to around 1,200 meters altitude. It prefers stagnant or low-flowing waters and can also grow on mud banks. It prefers waters rich in nutrients.
USE
No known use.
INTERESTING FACTS
It is also called greater shrimp.
The specific name refers to the plant’s growing environment, ponds.
Photo: under free licence from Saxifraga – Santos Cirujano Bracamonte and Rutger Barendse
