Many ponds have more than one type of aquatic plant, and care must be taken to

identify all the aquatic plants inhabiting the pond. Some pond plants may be beneficial to
local or migratory wildlife, and therefore, may want to be encouraged or at least not
eliminated. Click on whichever group of aquatic plants that you feel your specimen may
belong to and work through the examples until you find it.

Algae and Other Plankton

Algae are very primitive plants. Some algae are microscopic (planktonic algae). Others
are thin and stringy or hair-like (filamentous algae). While still others are large and
resemble higher plants but without true roots (chara).
Floating Plants

True floating plants are not attached to the bottom. Floating plants come in sizes from
very small (duckweed) to over a foot in diameter (water hyacinth). Most, but not all,
have roots that hang in the water from the floating green portions.

Submerged Plants

Submerged plants are rooted plants with most of their vegetative mass below the water
surface, although some portions may stick above the water. One discerning characteristic
of submerged plants is their flaccid or soft stems, which is why they do not usually rise
above the water’s surface.
Emergent Plants

Emergent plants are rooted plants often along the shoreline that stand above the surface
of the water (cattails). The stems of emergent plants are somewhat stiff or firm.

ur species profiles are provided as an educational informational tool.

Alligatorweed
 Brazilian Waterweed

Caulerpa, Mediterranean Clone

Common Reed
 Curly Pondweed

Didymo

Eurasian Watermilfoil
 Giant Reed

Giant Salvinia

Hydrilla
 Melaleuca

Oxygen Weed

Purple Loosestrife
Water Chestnut

Water Hyacinth

Water Lettuce
 Water Spinach


 Amur maple

Autumn Olive


Barberry, Common

Black Locust


Border privet

Buckthorn, Common


Butterbur Sweet-coltsfoot

Common Reed


Dame's Rocket

False Indigo


Giant Hogweed

Goutweed or Bishop's Weed




Honeysuckle, Dwarf shrub

Japanese hop


Loosestrife, Garden

Loosestrife, Purple


Narrow-leaved bitter-cress

Porcelainberry




Swallowwort, Black

Swallowwort, Pale


Wall-lettuce

Wild Chervil


Wild parsnip

Yellow Flag Iris

 Air Potato

Autumn Olive
 Beach Vitex

Brazilian Peppertree

British Yellowhead

Canada Thistle
Chinese Privet

Chinese Tallow

Cogongrass
Common Buckthorn

Common Teasel

Dalmatian Toadflax
Diffuse Knapweed

Downy Brome

Fig Buttercup
Garlic Mustard

Giant Hogweed

Golden Bamboo
 Hairy Whitetop

Houndstongue

Japanese Barberry
Japanese Climbing Fern

Japanese Honeysuckle

Japanese Knotweed
TERRESTIAL
PLANTS