hydrophytes

Plants in water

Hydrophytes are plants adapted to grow in water or waterlogged soil.

Water lilies, cattails, and duckweed are hydrophytes—their tissues have developed air spaces for buoyancy and oxygen transport, and their roots may be minimal since nutrients absorb directly from surrounding water.

The term contrasts with xerophytes, plants adapted to dry conditions.

species

lotus

Sacred aquatic flower

water lilyAquatic flowering plant
cattailWetland plant, brown spike
papyrusAncient plant-derived writing material

eelgrass · duckweed · watercress · milfoil · hornwort · water hyacinth · pondweed · pickerelweed · arrowhead · bulrush

habitat

marsh

Grassy waterlogged lowland

bogAcidic peat wetland
swampWaterlogged land with vegetation
fenLow marshy ground

pond · lake · estuary · wetland · riparian · floodplain · delta · freshwater · brackish · tidal

adaptations

floating leaves

Buoyant aquatic vegetation

submergedBelow water's surface
rhizomesHorizontal subterranean stem structures
stomataMicroscopic plant pores

buoyancy · spongy tissue · gas exchange · lacunae

ecology

oxygenation

Adding breathable gas

filtrationSeparating solids from liquids
habitatOrganism's natural environment
waterfowlSwimming birds collectively

biodiversity · algae bloom · eutrophication · biomass · aquaculture · ecosystem · erosion control · carbon sequestration · water purification

Opposites

water requirement

hydrophytesxerophytes

Drought-tolerant plant species

desert plants · cacti · succulents · desert flora · drought-tolerant plants

habitat type

hydrophytesepiphytes

Plants growing on others

Family

dehydration, hydrant, hydrate, hydraulic, hydro, anhydrous, hydrology, hydrous, hydroplane

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