Plants 🌿
Plants 🌿
There are plenty of vegetation mainly found in wetland environments. In Poland in its natural state most wetlands were covered with woody plants. Nowadays that ratio has changed - about 77% of those areas are inhabited with grasses and weeds. Woody types of vegetation characterize about 15% of all wetlands while mosses are the main vegetation of about 8% of them.
Here I present the most interesting plants that can be found on Polish wetlands!
Wild rosemary flower. Source.
Wild rosemary (Rhododendron tomentosum) - a shrub reaching 50-120cm in height. We can find it in peaty soils and woody bogs. It is under partial protection. Its small white flowers have a very intense smell which makes the plant useful against moths and flies as well as attracting bees and other pollinators.
Garden angelica. Source.
Garden angelica (Archangelica officinalis) - a tall plant reaching 2,5-3m in height. It is abundant in floodplins of rivers and at grassy wetlands. It is under partial protection due to the popularity of its use for medical purposes and in confectionary industry since it is edible. Its flowers are tiny in greeny-yellowish colors, grouped in umbrels.
Waterwheel plant. Source.
Waterwheel plant (Aldrowanda vesiculosa) - a carnivorous plant tiny invertebrates captured by its underwater traps. It is one of the few plants capable of rapid movement. It is a free-floating plants of stems reaching 6–40cm in length and covered with multiple small trap leaves. It is under strict protecion and is labelled as critically endangered.
Water butterfly wings. Source.
Water butterfly wings (Salvinia natans) - a fern adapted to aquatic lifestyle. Its leaves are floating due to the presence of air pouches. It is most commonly encountered along the Odra and Wistula rivers; it is extremely rare outside of those areas. The plant is under strict protection and labelled as an endangered species. Despite that it is a difficult species to upkeep because in beneficial conditions it is known to be capable of covering the entire surface of the body of water it inhabits.
European white water lily (Nymphaea alba) - Beautiful rooted plant with huge floating leaves and flowers. Leaves can reach up to 30cm in diameter. Due to its impressive white flowers it is very common in private ponds as decoration. Despite that it is under partial protection because of the loss of its habitats which are being dried out for agricultural purposes. Within the Carpathian Mountains areas it is labelled as critically endangered.