Common name:
Water-soldier
Family:
Scientific name:
Stratiotes aloides
Main flower color:
Range:
Most common in East Anglia; scarcer across central and south England
Height:
Up to 40 cm, though submerged most of the year
Habitat:
Ditches, ponds, fens; in still water
Flowers:
White, with three sepals and three petals, either solitary (female) or in clusters of two or three (male). On stalks of up to 8 cm, lined by two long, overlapping bracts
Leaves:
In a basal rosette, up to 40 cm long; thick, rigid, narrowly lanceolate, lined by small, regular teeth. Brownish towards the base, otherwise green
Season:
June to August
Rarity:
★★★★★
