# Water Starworts (*callitriche*)

Water Starworts are lovely little plants that grow in water! They have small, star-shaped leaves that make them look like they belong in a magical pond.

- **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 0/5 · No known danger
- **Habitat:** Ponds, lakes, and slow-moving streams.
- **Also known as:** Starleaf, Starwort, Water Star

![Water Starworts](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Illustration_Callitriche_palustris0.jpg&width=800)

Photo: Public domain · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Illustration_Callitriche_palustris0.jpg)

## Appearance

The Water Starworts has bright green, slender stems with small, opposite leaves that vary in shape. Submerged leaves are linear, while surface leaves often form floating rosettes, appearing like tiny green stars on the water.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Plantae
- **Phylum:** Tracheophyta
- **Class:** Magnoliopsida
- **Order:** Lamiales
- **Family:** Plantaginaceae

## Interesting facts

- Its seeds can stay alive for many years hidden in the mud!
- Some Water Starworts have no roots and just float freely!
- The flowers are so tiny, they don't even have petals!
- Water Starworts are like natural water filters, keeping ponds clean!

## Special abilities

- **Shape-Shifter Leaves:** Water Starworts can grow two different kinds of leaves – narrow ones underwater and broader ones that float – helping it adapt to varying water depths.
- **Oxygen Machine:** Water Starworts creates oxygen as it grows underwater, which helps fish and other creatures in the water breathe.
- **Fragment Friend:** Water Starworts can grow new plants from tiny broken-off pieces of its stem, allowing it to spread easily in its watery home.
- **Winter Warrior:** Water Starworts can survive harsh winters by forming special buds that sink to the bottom until spring, then grow again.

## Measurements & details

- **Height:** 5-50 cm
- **Spread:** 10-100 cm
- **Flower Size:** 0.1-0.2 cm
- **Bloom Season:** Summer
- **Edible:** No
- **Toxicity:** None
- **Lifecycle:** Perennial
- **Pollination Method:** Water

## Ecological connections

- **Eats:** Mallard duck (*Anas platyrhynchos*) — Feeds on leaves and seeds.
- **Eats:** Great pond snail (*Lymnaea stagnalis*) — Grazes on the plant's leaves.
- **Shelter:** [Northern pike](https://www.snappit.app/explore/northern-pike) (*Esox lucius*) — Young fish hide among the submerged stems.
- **Shelter:** Caddisfly larva (*Limnephilus rhombicus*) — Builds shelters from plant fragments.
- **Shelter:** Three-spined stickleback (*Gasterosteus aculeatus*) — Uses plants for nesting sites.

## Traits

- [Colorful](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/colorful): Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.
- [Herbivorous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/herbivorous): This trait characterizes organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of plant material.
- [Coastal](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/coastal): Coastal habitats are dynamic environments located along the interface between land and sea, influenced by tides, waves, and saltwater.
- [Diurnal](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/diurnal): Diurnal animals are primarily active during daylight hours, typically resting or sleeping at night.
- [Aquatic](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/aquatic): Aquatic habitats encompass environments where organisms live predominantly in water, including oceans, rivers, lakes, and wetlands.

## Collections

- [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/plants)

## Safety

**Danger:** 0/5 · No known danger

No special safety notes yet.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Water Starworts?

Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How tall is Water Starworts?

5-50 cm

### How wide does Water Starworts spread?

10-100 cm

### How big are the flowers on Water Starworts?

0.1-0.2 cm

### When does Water Starworts bloom?

Summer

### Is Water Starworts edible?

No

### Is Water Starworts toxic?

None

### What is Water Starworts's lifecycle?

Perennial

## Where to spot

- [Spring Mill Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/spring-mill-park) — Pennsylvania, US · Park

## More Plants

- [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*)
- [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*)
- [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*)
- [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*)

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Source: [Water Starworts: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/water-starworts)