Wetland Plants: Unique Species and Ecological Roles

Overview

Wetlands host remarkable plants—from the world's smallest flowering plant to species that generate heat to melt snow. Many benefit humans (cattail, stinging nettle), but invasive species threaten native wetland communities.

Notable Wetland Plants

Duckweed

Primary duck food; world's smallest flowering plant and smallest fruit. Reproduces asexually via buds that detach from parent plants.

Cattail

Defined by brown fluffy flower heads (pollinated form; yellow before pollination). Found along rivers, marshes, lakes, ponds, ditches. Edible raw, cooked, or as flour; also used for baskets and mats. Consumed by ducks, muskrats, humans.

White Lotus

Cherished by gardeners who create artificial bogs. Blooms June-September in all wetlands. Seeds extremely long-lived.

Purple Loosestrife

Invasive non-native with up to 50 pinkish-purple flower heads. Chokes out native wildlife. Controlled by Galerucella beetles (slow-spreading) or manual removal.

Skunk Cabbage

Foul-smelling flowers attract flies, gnats, bees. Leaf-like sheath structure. Generates enough heat to melt surrounding snow.

Stinging Nettle

Skin-irritating chemicals give its name. Used for nettle tea and treating urinary issues, hay fever, joint pain.

Milkweed

White sap when cut. Clusters of pinkish-purple flowers June-August. Primary monarch caterpillar food source.