Frogbit - Hydrocharis morsus-ranae

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Frogbit - Hydrocharis morsus-ranae
© Dr Chris Gibson/English Nature

A free-floating aquatic, frogbit resembles a tiny waterlily and is one of very few really attractive floating plants found in Britain. The three-petalled, pure- white flowers have yellow eyes, and the petals look thin and crumpled. The rosettes of the small, deciduous kidney-shaped leaves, which often have a brown tinge on the underside, float on the surface in the summer.

In winter, the plant is dormant and buds become buried in mud beneath the water. This is an excellent and attractive plant for a garden pond and provides cover for tadpoles, small fish, dragonfly larvae and a variety of other invertebrates. It is a close relative of the water-soldier.

Animals

Dragonflies and damselflies, Small fish, Tadpoles

Foliage	Green
Flower	White, July to August
Moisture	(Wet)
Sunlight	(Full sun to Part-shade)
Origin	Native