Each
aquatic community has a variety of plants which provide shelter and food
for many  of
the animals living in the community, and add oxygen to the water. Some
of these plants grow along the water's edge, such as this pickerelweed. |
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| EMERGENTS |
|
| Plants that grow out of water are called emergents.
Some emergents are: broadleaf arrowhead, named for the shape of its leaf
(near right), and soft rush (far right). |
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| FLOATING
PLANTS |
 Other
aquatic plants have adapted so that their leaves float on the surface of
the water. These plants, such as spatter dock (left), floating pondweeds
(bottom left), and duckweed (bottom right), tend to occur in ponds and
in backwaters of streams and rivers where there is little or no current. |
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| SUBMERGENTS |
 A
third group of plants grow completely submerged under the surface of the
water. The roots of this water milfoil (right) anchor it into the bottom
of the pond.
Coontail (below), also a submerged plant, is a bit different.
Often it isn't rooted to the ground.
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