What Plants Can Be Found in Pennsylvania Ponds?

[music] What plants can be found in Pennsylvania ponds? [music] In an ideal pond ecosystem, 20 to 30% of the pond is covered with plants to provide adequate habitat and maintain [music] a healthy balance of aquatic life. Under certain conditions, plants may grow [music] to unmanageable levels or invasive plants may begin to take over, prompting the pond owner to take [music] action. Successful treatment of nuisance aquatic plants begins with accurate identification. Aquatic plants can be categorized into four main groups. Algae, submerged plants, floating plants, and emergent plants. Algae are the most common type of aquatic plant and the most common to grow to a nuisance level. Planktonic algae are minute single-sellled plants that are suspended in the water. They are the base of the pond food chain, but often grow abundantly, giving the pond a green, reddish, or brown appearance. Filamentous forms of algae begin to grow on the bottom of the pond in shallow water, then break loose and float to the top in a large mat. Branched algae such as charara and Nutella are less common and can even look like rooted plants. Another microscopic organism that occurs naturally in some ponds are cyanobacteria. Commonly referred to as blue green algae. These photosynthesizing bacteria can be beneficial to aquatic ecosystems at low levels. However, under the right conditions, they can form large blooms that may produce toxins that can be dangerous to animals and people that come in contact with the water. These harmful algae blooms or habs may look like spilled paint, pea soup, or thick floating scums, ranging from blue, green to red, brown, or whitish in color. If you suspect a hab in your pond, it is best to avoid the water. Moving on from algae, the most diverse group of aquatic plants are the submerged plants that are usually rooted to the bottom of the pond and have submerged leaves and stems. Most grow in shallow water less than 4 ft deep where sunlight penetrates to the bottom of the pond. Some submerged plants are annuals that die each year and regrow by seeds the following year, but most rely on continual spreading growth from ryomes or roots. A few even remain green all year long. Most submerged plants are beneficial to the pond, providing important underwater habitat and only rarely reach nuisance levels. Some of the most common native submerged plants are elodia, niad, and leafy pondweed. There are several non-native submerged plants that often grow to nuisance levels and are increasingly being found in ponds in Pennsylvania. Curly leaf pondweed is one of the most common invasive submerged plants. It has a very distinctive appearance with crinkled, finely tothed leaves that occur alternately along the stem. Hydrillaa is another invasive submerged plant that is currently most common in southern Pennsylvania ponds. It has dense, finely tothed leaves coming off stems in whirls of 3 to eight. Finally, Eurasian mil foil is an invasive non-native plant that quickly grows to nuisance levels. The leaves are dark green or reddish in color with a fine feather-like appearance, growing on long, thin stems. Our next category, floating aquatic plants, have most or all of their leaves floating freely on the pond surface. Some common floating plants are actually rooted on the bottom, like water lily, spatterdoc, and water shield. Two small floating aquatic plants have become a nuisance for many pond owners. Duckweed with its small free floating leaves can spread rapidly across the pond surface, especially if the water is stagnant. Watermeal, which also likes stagnant water, looks very much like bright green grass seed. It feels gritty when rubbed between your fingers. Both of these plants are frequently spread between ponds on the feathers and feet of geese and ducks. The final group of aquatic plants are emergent varieties that grow along the edge of the pond, like cattails, arrowhead, and bull rush. They like to have their roots in wet sediment, but their stems and leaves above the water surface. Most emergent plants grow slowly and provide excellent fish and wildlife habitat. Emergent plants tend to cause few problems for pond owners with the exception of a few non-native invasive plants like purple loose strife. This non-native plant easily outco competes native emergent plants and should be removed as soon as it first appears. There are many more aquatic plants that are [music] common in Pennsylvania ponds. And you can get help in identifying your pond plants by visiting the Penn State Extension [music] website or by emailing a digital photo of the plant to your local water resources