Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Medium

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Freshwater wetland

Range

Oceania

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Rare

About

This aquatic plant grows in the shallow freshwater ponds of New Zealand. Its leaves change shape depending on whether they are submerged or floating on the surface.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Liliopsida

Order

Alismatales

Family

Potamogetonaceae

Genus

Potamogeton

Species

Potamogeton cheesemanii