Pond plant for ID Please

[pammosley]

Hi folks, can anyone help with this please? Found in a dyke in Norfolk.
Many thanks for taking the time to look

[PMG]

Well Marsh Pennywort jumped to mind but the leaves look more angular than rounded - I shall get my books out and search! Or better still wait a min for Dorts to get here and tell us

Pauline

Nah not pennywort - what was I thinking of - course its not - its one of the water crowfoots but I'm struggling with which one at the min! Poss Pond Water Crowfoot but without seeing the underwater leaves (long thready things) or the flowers then I'm a bit stumped and would like to actually be handling a piece!

[Dorts]

Pam, looks like Celery-leaved Buttercup - Ranunculus sceleratus. Although supposedly annual, I often find plants like this in shallow water that never seem to mature into a full flowering plants.
The grass is one of the Sweet Grasses - Glyceria sp.
Dorts.

[Johnny81]

Pond Water Crowfoot Ranunculus peltatus - for me although I have no knowledge on these and I'm looking in books - I never seem to find these plants anywhere.

[pammosley]

Hi Dorts, Johnny & Pauline, thanks for looking. I was thinking along the lines of Crowsfoot as well, I confess to not considering Celery Leaved Buttercup as I didn`t know it could grow in water I hope it`s not long before you can get your hands dirty again Pauline
I only have Ferns & Seaweeds left to ID now from our holiday snaps.......oh dear

[PMG]

Originally Posted by Dorts

Pam, looks like Celery-leaved Buttercup - Ranunculus sceleratus. Although supposedly annual, I often find plants like this in shallow water that never seem to mature into a full flowering plants.
The grass is one of the Sweet Grasses - Glyceria sp.
Dorts.

Yes of course! And thats why there are no flowers - when at this time of year there should have been flowers on a crowfoot!

Pauline

[Dorts]

Easily confused with a Water Crowfoot, (John, Pond Water-crowfoot has floating leaves, cut to the base and submerged hairlike-leaves eminating from a long creeping stem).

Celery-leaved Buttercup is nearly always found in damp and waterlogged ground or in fresh-water, small streams and ditches. The Maple-like leaves are distinct when on one of these small floating-leaved plants. They will become much more celery-like when in flower.


As I say, these small un-flowered plants always cause confusion as they look nothing like the mature plant, but as you can see, the leaf-shape on the lower leaves is the same on both plants and are coming from a central point, not from a creeping stem.
Dorts.

[pammosley]

Thanks for the info Dorts, very helpful. There is no mistaking the leaves.

[Johnny81]

Originally Posted by Dorts

Easily confused with a Water Crowfoot, (John, Pond Water-crowfoot has floating leaves, cut to the base and submerged hairlike-leaves eminating from a long creeping stem).

Celery-leaved Buttercup is nearly always found in damp and waterlogged ground or in fresh-water, small streams and ditches. The Maple-like leaves are distinct when on one of these small floating-leaved plants. They will become much more celery-like when in flower.


As I say, these small un-flowered plants always cause confusion as they look nothing like the mature plant, but as you can see, the leaf-shape on the lower leaves is the same on both plants and are coming from a central point, not from a creeping stem.
Dorts.

Always easier with a flower I need to find some crowfoots - a plant that thus far has avoided me.

[Dorts]

Originally Posted by Johnny81

Always easier with a flower I need to find some crowfoots - a plant that thus far has avoided me.

Best places John are chalk-streams, small-muddy outlets from heathland ponds, anywhere 'watery' in the New Forest, brackish water and muddy-edges of shallow ponds.
A fascinating, but sometimes difficult group.
All the best, hope you manage to find some.
Dorts.