Frogbit

Hydrocharis morsus-ranae is a fast-growing British native aquatic plant, which floats freely on the surface of the pond during the summer, then drops down to the pond floor during the colder part of the year where it overwinters as turions (dormant buds). The small, floating, kidney-shaped leaves - just 3cm across - resemble tiny lily pads; the submerged branched roots trailing down into the water where they provide shelter for fry and other small aquatic creatures. From June until August, small, three-petalled white flowers with yellow stamens are held just above the water"s surface. This plant prefers a sunny aspect in calm water, and the pond must be deep enough if you wish to prevent the dormant buds from freezing, once settled on the bottom during the colder part of the year. This is a fairly low maintenance plant which is generally disease-free; however, various water snails may enjoy eating some of the leaves. During the autumn, some aquarists like to collect up a proportion of the plants and keep to one side in a bucket whilst any seasonal pond maintenance (vacuuming etc.) is carried out - after which time the plants are then placed back into the pond. This ensures that some of the tiny buds are safe and will reappear as plants in the warmer weather. As H. morsus-ranae does break apart at this time of year, it means that the dying vegetation in the water could deplete dissolved oxygen levels, particularly in smaller ponds. Therefore, once the plants start decaying and the turions have been released, be sure to remove any vegetation that has broken away with a large pond net. Propagation is by seed or division of the stolons.

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