Hydrophyte = 水生植物 menu                LINK to classification of plants

        LINKS to  ......      

l Giant water lily in the HK park

l Water lily (from small to big)

l Pistia stratiotes (大浮萍)

l    Salvinia, a floating water fern

l Arrow-head (慈姑)

l    Eichhornia (水浮蓮)

Hydrophytes are plants that live in water. Like land plants, there are a variety of types.

The following hydrophyte is probably Pistia stratiotes (大浮萍). The leaves are densely covered with short hairs. Water drops that fall on them will drip away. The roots are submerged (see the next photo). It can be cultivated as a pig's feed and has certain medicinal applications. [A picture at 1024 x 768 resolution ; jump to the Pistia page.]

Another very common floating plant is Lemna sp. It is commonly referred to as " 浮萍 ", and is a categoric descriptor in classical Chinese literature. The term " 漂萍 " (飄萍) (漂 specifically refers to drifting on water) is " 漂浮且流的綠萍 " (the green aquatic plant that floats and drifts). As the single-leaf plant is tiny (= very small), only a few mm across in length and width, its position on water surface is totally at the mercy of wind and rain. Hence its metaphoric meaning to imply the drifting (uncertain) nature of human life, and the fleeting encounter among people (萍水相逢). [fleeting = transient, 過眼雲煙 floating smoke and passing clouds] [Link : Calligraphy 漂萍] [Link : The ephermeral bubble]

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Members of the family Azollaceae are red, and the term is translated in Chinese as 滿江紅屬. Azolla sp. (also called 紅萍) is interesting as they have nitrogen-fixing (固氮) blue green algae as symbiotic (共生) partners. These tiny micro-organisms can absorb nitrogen gas from air, and change them into useful nitrogenous compounds for the growth of the Azolla plant. Cultivated on ponds and paddy fields, they are a source of green/biological fertiliser (綠肥).

Nymphaea sp. (Nymphaeaceae 睡蓮科, Nymphaea 睡蓮屬) is commonly called water lily. It is a typical hydrophyte with circular leaves floating on water surface. The leaf is broken by a narrow slit and  the rim is wavy. The leaf stalks rise from the stem, which is buried in bottom mud, in a radiative manner. Some of the stalks protrude out of water give rise to flowers. Each flower stalk bears a big terminal flower that opens and closes rhythmically for a few days.

                Eichhornia sp. (水浮蓮)

Myriophyllum sp. is a common hydrophyte. It has finely divided leaves, some protrude out of water.

One of the most important economic crops in human civilisation - scientifically called Oryza sativa, 

or commonly " rice ". It lives in water-logged paddy field. The small grains contain fully packed carbohydrate starch.

Each one is a little store of chemical energy.  [View a fresh specimen of Japanese rice.]

LINK to giant water lily in the HK park; LINK to classification of plants