floating marsh pennywort

Hydrocotyle ranunculoides

Floating marsh pennywort is a fun plant that loves to float on water! Its round leaves look like little green coins and are often found in wetlands and ponds.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The floating marsh pennywort has bright green, round, scallop-edged leaves that float gracefully on the water's surface. Its tiny, star-shaped flowers are white to greenish-white, emerging from the leaf bases. It's distinct for its small, lily-pad like appearance in dense clusters.

KingdomPlantaePhylumTracheophytaClassMagnoliopsidaOrderApialesFamilyAraliaceaeGenusHydrocotyle

floating marsh pennywort

Interesting facts

In some parts of the world, people eat its fresh, crisp leaves in salads!

It's sometimes used in aquariums to provide shade and shelter for fish!

Its round, coin-shaped leaves give it the "pennywort" part of its name!

This amazing plant can form thick, floating rafts that completely cover ponds!

Special abilities

Floating marsh pennywort can quickly spread, forming dense mats that help it dominate its watery habitat.

It has nodes along its stems that can root into the sediment, anchoring the plant and helping it grow.

This plant can absorb excess nutrients from the water, acting like a natural filter for its environment.

Measurements & details

Height: 2-5 cm
Spread: 50-200 cm
Flower Size: 0.1-0.3 cm
Bloom Season: Late Spring to Early Fall
Edible: Yes
Toxicity: None
Lifecycle: Perennial
Pollination Method: Insect

Ecological connections

eats

Great pond snail

Lymnaea stagnalis

Snails graze on its leaves.

shelters

Mosquitofish

Gambusia affinis

Provides cover for small fish.

eaten by

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchos

Ducks may nibble on new growth.

pollinates

European honey bee

Apis mellifera

Attracts bees to its small flowers.

Traits

Flowering

Flowering plants are any plants that produce flowers as part of their reproductive cycle.

Edible

Edible plants are those parts of a plant that are considered safe for human consumption.

Pollinator Magnet

Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms.

Rapid Growing

Rapid growing plants exhibit accelerated growth rates, quickly increasing in size and biomass within a short period.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.