Which is often confused with the lotus, and in Europe they call it a water lily, without which it is impossible to imagine a single pond in French castles and a single quiet river backwater of the Russian hinterland, this is - water lily white.
Description and features of the white water lily
Valid for numerous photo white water lily it is very similar to those that fill the fabulous reservoirs in Far East Asia, but, it has nothing to do with the lotus. This water flower is a perennial with very large leaves, flowers and roots:
Leaves
The shape resembles a heart, very large - up to 35 cm in diameter, the wrong side of the leaf is rich purple, due to the high saturation with anthocyanin.
The petiole holding the leaf plate sometimes goes very deep into the input, depending on how old and developed the root is. Sometimes, a scattering of water lilies covering the surface of a small reservoir is one flower.
If the plant does not live in a pond, but in a small forest swamp, then the petioles supporting the leaves, like part of the root, are in the air, and their appearance changes according to the conditions.
The stems themselves thicken and coarsen, a bark develops on them. The water lily, which has been growing in a shallow forest swampy reservoir for many years, practically turns into a woody liana.
Root
rhizome white water lily huge, the older, the more massive and branched the root. It grows constantly, is located horizontally, is painted in dark brown shades and is covered with buds and the remains of dead old cuttings of leaves.
It is in the root that most of tannins and rare alkaloids, starch, protein and sugars, because of which the plant has been widely used both in pharmacology and in home medicine and cosmetology.
white water lily flower- single, has a delicate, very delicate aroma. The size of the flower in diameter is from 5 cm in young plants and often over 20 cm in long-lived ones.
The number of sepals in a flower also depends on the age of the plant - from 3 to 5, botanists admit the likelihood of a larger number. The color of the plant can vary and have yellow and even red hues.
Himself possesses interesting feature in “behavior” - after sunrise, around 6-7 in the morning, it opens, but in the evening, even before sunset, at about 19 hours, it closes and goes under water, surfacing only at dawn.
Flowering begins at the end of June, in too shaded places or in a very cool climate, it lags behind by a month - water lilies bloom in July. They bloom until autumn, also, depending on the conditions - either until September or until October.
In France, flowering lasts until November, and begins in May, thanks to the mild climate. In Russia, namely, in the North Caucasus, flowering lasts just as long.
Fruit
The loud word "fruit" denotes the ripening of seeds. “Packed” in a box, they ripen under water, and in the fall, after flowering ends, the boxes come off and float to the surface, swaying on the water surface like small boats.
Description of the white water lily it would not be complete without mentioning that it is quite possible to plant and grow in your own pond, both in the garden and in apartment conditions. The only limitation is the size of the reservoir created for the flower, they must be large enough.
Useful properties of white water lily
You can talk endlessly about the benefits of a flower, as well as about its beauty. At what, beneficial features are not limited to use in pharmacology or home recipes, they are much wider:
Regarding this long time the term “economic purpose” dominated, and its productivity, as wild plant, from the point of view of planning the "national economy" was laid down in the regulations in this form - "yield of dry rhizomes - 2 t / ha".
Of course, this applied to those areas where the plant "dominated" in nature. This approach has led to the introduction white water lily in Red Book as an almost extinct species. The composition is unique, among its chemical components are:
alkaloids, including the rarest ones, for example, nifmein;
glycosides, including nymphalin;
oxalic acid;
bioflavonoid compounds;
starch (up to 49% in the core of the root);
essential fatty saturated oils;
vitamins, especially a lot - group "C".
Extracts are included in the pharmacological formulations of drugs intended for the treatment of:
neuroses;
neuralgia various types;
migraine;
hepatitis;
cholelithiasis;
cystitis;
pulmonary forms of tuberculosis;
trichomoniasis;
oncological tumors.
In the cosmetics industry, water lily is an ingredient in many drugs that are effective against:
seborrhea;
pigmentation, including freckles;
caring, moisturizing products for the skin.
Of course, there are also a lot of folk recipes using parts of this plant.
Protection and reproduction of the white water lily
breeds water lily plant white both vegetatively and by seeds. In a garden setting. As a rule, they prefer to decorate ponds included in the landscape with hybrid ornamental varieties that have different colors, sizes and color combinations - for example, species in which water lily — white, and her capsule – yellow.
If there is a desire to grow not a decorative, but a real water lily, then this is quite easy to do. The root should not be touched, as this will violate legislative act, fixing the status of a flower and regulating water lily protection as a rare botanical species.
In the autumn, when the seed boxes emerge, they need to be collected from the water surface. After collection, the box must be planted in very viscous soil, literally - slurry, which should be in a fairly large pot.
At the bottom of this "incubator" it is necessary to put weighting, the heavier it is, the better. the pot should be sent to an artificial reservoir. If the procedure is done in the fall, then you do not need to open the boxes, the seed in them will overwinter. If planting takes place in the spring, then, by that time, the box opens itself.
As for sprouting in a pot and immersing it in a pond, then, of course, this is necessary for planting ponds made inside plastic or rubber frames.
If the reservoir has a natural bottom, it is not worth diving into the pond for planting, although it is quite possible to reach the bottom with your hands in shallow garden lakes, for deep reservoirs it is also germinated in a weighted pot, but this pot should be peat.
When immersed, it will dissolve sooner or later, and the plant will certainly take root in the soil bottom, literally in a week, water lily white pond in the garden will already decorate with the first pair of leaves.
Decorative hybrid varieties are sold in almost any floristic salon specializing in landscaping landscaped ponds. Their cost is relatively low, and the seedling bush itself.
As a rule, it already has one, giving a complete picture of the plant. They are usually planted in June, following all the instructions listed in the instructions for the seedling, recommendations for growing and rooting, as well as care requirements, may be different, depending on the variety.
Water lily pure white rarely found in nature, as a rule, there is still some shade. But regardless of color, the water lily in 1993 on the territory of Russia was classified as a specially protected rare species.
On the territory of Tverskaya and Leningrad regions botanical reserves and a mini-reserve have been organized, in which they are engaged in both artificial breeding with further resettlement throughout the country, and the study and creation of breeding hybrids intended for decorative landscaping in parks, botanical gardens and other places of mass recreation in which there are reservoirs. In particular, water lilies from the Tverskoy reserve adorned the Patriarch's Ponds.
Water lily and lotus tattoos are not the same thing at all. People far from the world of biology and plants often confuse these two flowers. However, in an artistic tattoo, a lotus and a water lily have completely different meanings, and for those who wish to put on their body beautiful picture, you should first think about the meaning of the sketch.
In order to understand the meaning of a water lily tattoo, you should first think about what this plant symbolized for different peoples. Unlike the lotus, which is an important symbol for Eastern people, the water lily is a European plant.
Our Slavic ancestors believed in the mystical properties of this flower. He could protect people from evil forces and other troubles, help defeat enemies, or vice versa, destroy a person who was looking for a water lily with evil intent. Among the Slavs, the water lily also has other names: overcome-grass, white water lily and others. Also, this plant since ancient times is considered a symbol of purity, purity and gentle beauty. Grass-grass is often found in stories about mermaids, which justifies another name - a mermaid flower.
Among the Scandinavian peoples, beautiful nymphs with elves live on the flowers and leaves of the plant. There is a mention of this plant and the ancient Greeks. According to legend, the nymph, bursting into tears from unrequited love for Hercules, turned into a water lily. There is a similar story in the traditions of the northern Germans. The ancient Greeks also describe the flower as a symbol of beauty, according to some legends, it can also give eloquence.
The meaning of a water lily tattoo
A water lily is a tattoo that means not only beauty and innocence. This is a symbol with a much deeper meaning: the mermaid flower on the body symbolizes the connection of the past with the present. The fact is that this plant has very strong stems that go deep under water. This is how the meaning of the water lily tattoo appeared.
Some people also believe that water lilies on the body mean a cherished desire. If such a pattern is stuffed on the body, then the dream will surely come true, because the water lily appears from a star that has fallen from heaven onto the lake.
Mermaid flower is stuffed by people who often go on long trips. It is believed that the water lily can protect against evil people, illnesses and misfortunes, even give strength and fearlessness.
Where would a water lily tattoo look best?
This delicate flower looks equally attractive on any part of the body. Most often, people pick up a sketch on their back, because there is enough space to fill a large drawing, it is better to display the variety of colors and originality of the idea. The most daring girls beat such a picture in the lower abdomen or even on the pubis - however, do not forget that such work requires real professionalism in tattooing and planning the sketch placement from the master.
Small water lilies in black and white also look good on the wrist or higher on the forearm. This option is well combined with other sketches, easily complemented by meaningful inscriptions (this is especially important for people who stuff a flower to fulfill a wish).
You can also stuff a water lily on the foot. Best of all, such an idea will look in realism, using a large number of colors. Typically, such sketches do not require additions in the form of other elements.
What colors are used?
Most often, people turn to the master for a sketch of a water lily with a ready-made photo they like. It is logical that in this case, the tattoo artist simply focuses on the shades shown in the photo, although he may suggest other colors to make the tattoo look more attractive on a particular area of the body. In any case, regardless of the colors of the pattern, the water lily tattoo is interpreted in the same way in all countries.
Usually water lilies are stuffed either in black (if we are talking about black and red styles), or in bright shades: purple, yellow, red, blue with green leaves. If there are any other elements, then they can be painted in any color.
Water lilies in female and male tattoos
Flowers are most often stuffed by girls, while guys usually prefer more “aggressive” and masculine sketches. However, there is a nuance here as well. The water lily is often used in male tattoos when properly combined with other designs. The plant looks good in combination with the style of "Japan", for example, with carps. You can also fill a water lily in black and combine it with a dotwork (dotted pattern) or blackwork (dense black paint).
As for the meaning, it is the same for both men and women, the difference is only in the colors of the tattoo and its design.
In what styles is the mermaid flower beaten?
Since most often the main task of the master when stuffing water lilies is to reveal the tenderness of the colors of the flower, to convey its mystery and mystical meaning, it is best to choose sketches in the "realism" style. This option will allow you to better convey the idea of \u200b\u200bthe picture, and it is also interesting to beat the combination of shades.
Often combine realism with Japan. This combination is more common among men, although with right choice sketches, the combination of a somewhat rough oriental style and a delicate realistic flower looks very original.
The combination of the other two styles, dotwork (or graphics) with watercolors, looks no less attractive. A black water lily conveys the meaning of the tattoo, and bright streaks of paint prevent the drawing from becoming too gloomy or boring.
With what to combine a water lily?
In addition to carps, other inhabitants of the lake and forest, for example, frogs or butterflies, also go well with water lilies. Also in the tattoo, the combination of a mermaid flower with dragonflies or other plants looks interesting. However, most often water lilies are supplemented with inscriptions or ornate patterns.
Outcome
No matter what the meaning of a water lily tattoo is closer to you, we must not forget that it can bring good luck and help you achieve your goals. Stuff beautiful flower, and suddenly the cherished dream will come true?
The water lily is the queen of rivers and lakes, a mermaid flower, a nymphaeum, a water lily, an overpowered grass, an enticing mystery of calm waters - one of the oldest angiosperms on the planet.
With the appearance of its flowers at the beginning of summer, our reservoirs are transformed, become elegant and solemn.
Not a single plant is associated with so many legends and traditions among different peoples as with a water lily. In ancient times, in Russia, the water lily was considered one of the nine magical herbs, along with plakun-grass, flowering fern, tirlich, Adam's head, gap-grass, orchiline, cover and nonsense-wind. The water lily in this list was listed under the name "grass-overcome". She was endowed with the ability to protect travelers. The dried rhizome was put into a bag or a vessel, which, going on a journey, was hung on the chest.
FLOWER NYMPH
The scientific Latin name for the water lily, Nymphaea, is no less poetic. It comes from the Greek "nymph", which means "chrysalis". AT Greek mythology nymphs are beautiful young creatures, patrons of streams, forests, lakes and other natural objects. According to legend, one of the nymphs suffered from unrequited love for Hercules. Taking pity on her, the gods turned her into the purest flower, shining with its immaculate beauty on the surface of the water surface. On behalf of Nymphaeum, the name of the whole botanical family was also formed - Nymphaeaceae, the type genus of which was the water lily.
LOTUS EFFECT
The purity of water lilies, which poets sing, is not at all apparent, not a figment of the imagination. The leaves and flowers of these wonderful inhabitants of smoothly flowing waters are covered with a special compound that repels any dirt. This natural phenomenon, known since time immemorial, scientists have unraveled relatively recently. In the 1990s, the German botanist W. Barthlott examined the surface of the leaf of another aquatic plant, the lotus, using a scanning probe microscope, which gives a very strong magnification. What he saw there, the scientist patented as a discovery called the “lotus effect”.
Now various paints and materials have been created that imitate this effect. The surface covered with them does not get dirty. The most valuable such invention turned out to be for hospitals, where door handles Millions of bacteria are ingested every day. Made from similar materials, they leave no chance for bacteria to gain a foothold on their surface. Real lotus and water lily are not related plants, but they have the same special surface of leaves and flowers.
LOVE POTION
In ancient European herbalists, a water lily was listed as a love potion, with which it was possible to bewitch an object of unrequited love.
Nowadays, the chemical composition of the rhizomes of water lilies has been thoroughly studied. They found the alkaloid nymphein, which acts on the central nervous system, and the glycoside nymphalin, which has a sedative and hypnotic effect. Sometimes you can find mention of the use of extracts different types water lilies in perfumery as aphrodisiacs.
PETALS AND STAMENS
The Nymphaeaceae family is one of the most ancient flowering plants on earth. They belong to the group of so-called basal dicots, which have preserved many unusual features of ancient angiosperms. For example, the number of flower organs - petals, stamens and pistils - they can have almost any number. In addition, water lilies do not have a clear boundary between the petals and stamens: if you “disassemble” the flower into “details”, you can see the gradual transition of some organs to others. The sepals of water lilies growing in our reservoirs are green, and the petals are white. Only a few species live in it: snow-white water lily (Nymphaea candida), white water lily (Nymphaea alba), and the northern Siberian species - tetrahedral water lily (Nymphaea tetragona), also with white, but miniature flowers. The white water lily is much rarer than the white water lily. Her flowers are larger, up to 15 cm, with pointed edges of the petals. Young leaves are reddish, with age only the underside remains colored. In tropical and subtropical species, the color range of flowers is much more diverse - their petals can be bright red, burgundy, pink, yellow, blue, dark blue. The ripening fruits of water lilies really resemble a jug in shape, perhaps that is why the plant got its name.
OLD POND IN THE GARDEN
Many winter-hardy hybrid varieties water lilies that can grow in our climate. The most common of them are those obtained at the end of the 19th century by the French breeder J. B. Latour-Marliac. The secret of his success still remains unsolved. It is believed that in order to give the petals a different color, he crossed a winter-hardy white water lily with southern views. Marliak hybrids bloom until the first serious frosts and winter well in our conditions. They do not form seeds, which allows you to maintain the purity of varieties.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE WHITE LILILY
Flowers in all types of water lilies bloom for only four days. They open in the morning, at about 9 o'clock, and close in the evening, at about 6 pm. In cloudy weather, they may not open at all, and before the rain they always hide under water.
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF
Kingdom: plants.
Department: angiosperms.
Class: dicot.
Order: water lily.
Family: water lilies, or nymphs.
Genus: water lily.
Type: white water lily.
Latin name: Nymphaea alba.
Size: diameter - up to 200 cm, height - 60-250 cm.
Life form: Herbaceous perennial.
For some, water lilies - that is what white water lilies are called - flowers are familiar and of little interest, for others - they are shrouded in legends and mystery. This plant has several names - nymphea, even lotus (the name is used in Egypt and India in relation to individual species). Let's take a closer look at the features external structure water representative of the flora and learn a number of interesting facts about it.
Descriptions
In the photo of a water lily, you can see that this plant is distinguished by amazing elegance, natural harmony. It is a perennial, belongs to the Nymphaeum (Water lilies) family, it can be found in reservoirs almost everywhere the globe, but prefers temperate and tropical climates.
Distinctive features of the water lily are as follows:
- A powerful rhizome with a large number of long roots, due to which the plant is held in the ground.
- The stem is transformed into a rhizome or has the appearance of a tuber.
- Large White flower with a yellow center. It is characterized by a symmetrical shape, a long pedicel and a double perianth. Sepals no more than 4-5, few pistils.
- The sheet has a simple structure, thick. Due to the fact that there are cavities with air inside it, it does not sink under water. There are plants with large leaves, there are also species in which they are small.
- There are also underwater leaves, rolled up with a cap and covered with films, under them the development of surface leaves occurs.
- The surface of the above-water plates is dense, as if covered with wax - this is a means of protecting it from moisture. Most often they are green in color, but some plants have a bright burgundy color, others are variegated.
- The fruit is an underwater multi-leaflet.
The plant prefers to grow in ponds with stagnant water and good lighting. Some varieties, due to their decorative properties, have become actively used in landscape design, allowing you to create unique water compositions.
Color spectrum
The color of the water lily plant is diverse. In addition to the usual snow-white flowers, you can find the following color options:
- Blue.
- Purple.
- Lilac.
- Cream.
- Pink.
- Yellow.
- Red.
Bright colors are inherent in those plants that grow in the warm corners of the planet, a more modest design is inherent in water lilies - residents of Russia.
Plant features
Having become acquainted with the description of the water lily, let's move on to the story of the distinctive features of this beautiful plant:
- In the morning, water lily flowers bloom, but close at sunset.
- Flowering occurs from the second half of May to the end of August. The life expectancy of one flower is small - no more than 4 days.
- Often, a water lily is confused with another aquatic representative of the flora, a capsule, distinguishing feature which has bright yellow flowers.
You can meet the classic version of the water lily - the white water lily - in central Russia, on Far East, Central Asia.
reproduction
Consider how lily reproduction occurs. A flower pollinated by insects sinks to the bottom, where the polysemyanka ripens - the fruit, appearance similar to a berry. It contains more than a thousand seeds - small, black, caviar-like fish that float to the surface after the death of the berry. Swimming on them, they often become food for fish and birds, and are also carried by the current. Those seeds that have survived are gradually freed from the mucus surrounding them and sink to the bottom, where they germinate.
Also, water lilies have the ability to reproduce by rhizome, it is this method that is considered the main one for them.
Myths and legends
Folk beliefs attributed to the plant magical properties, calling it "overcome-grass", mermaid color. It was believed that the water lily protects, helps to defeat the enemy, but if the thoughts of the person using it are black, magic will be turned against him.
Scandinavian legends tell that each water lily has its own elf friend, who lives exactly the same time as a beautiful plant.
We offer you to get acquainted with a selection of interesting facts about water lilies:
- Sometimes these plants are confused with sea lilies, which also resemble a water lily, but science has proven that the latter do not belong to the plant world, representing primitive animals.
- The water leaf has a large number of air located in special cavities. Therefore, it does not submerge in water if anything exceeding its weight, such as a bird, is placed on it.
- The plant has a pleasant aroma that attracts insects for pollination. Sometimes the beetles that got inside the flower are forced to spend the night in it, because after sunset the water lily closes. In the morning, insects get out of flower captivity.
- It is considered an amphibian - after the native reservoir has dried up, it is able to survive on land.
Water lilies are indicators of the ecological situation in a reservoir - if their number is sharply reduced, then the lake or pond is polluted.
Usage
Water lilies, the photos of the flowers of which were presented above, have been used by people since time immemorial, but in different ways.
- So, the ancient Slavs believed that this plant is a talisman for those traveling to distant lands, so travelers always took with them a small amulet with leaves and water lily flowers.
- In ancient Greece, the water lily was revered as a symbol of beauty and femininity, so its graceful flowers were used to decorate girls. It is known that the beautiful Elena, the unwitting culprit Trojan War, for her wedding dressed in a wreath of water lilies.
- In folk medicine, leaves, rhizome and large flowers. They help get rid of headaches, help overcome insomnia, are indicated for diarrhea, gallbladder pathologies. A decoction of the flowers, applied externally, relieves inflammation of the skin.
- In the Middle Ages, white water lilies were considered a symbol of purity, so their flowers were used as a means of suppressing sinful passion. The seeds were actively used as food by monks and nuns, but later studies proved that this approach was erroneous, the nymphaeum did not have the ability to fight desire.
- The rhizome of the plant is rich in starch, so it can be used to make flour.
- Water lilies are so beautiful that they are actively used to decorate ponds. Gradually, through the work of breeders, it was possible to develop new varieties, including dwarf ones, with pointed petals and bright colors, which earned the love of fans landscape design.
- Water lily seeds, pre-roasted, are a great alternative to coffee.
Water lily- a plant of amazing beauty, which is a true decoration of the reservoir. The unusualness of the nymphaeum, its ability to grow in the depths of the lake gave rise to a lot of legends with which our distant ancestors tried to explain the unusual properties of the flower for them, which is why the water lily is still identified in the minds with mysterious mermaids.
From marine species - sea ruff - scorpionfish, etc. By the way, coral fish, painted to match the bright coral reefs surrounding them, also mimic these "hard" thickets.
Another important point is that aquatic plants are a source of food for many fish. Of course, we must make allowances for our climate, since in winter the amount of vegetation in many water bodies is sharply reduced and the fish must switch to other types of food. Such fish are called facultative phytophages (goldfish, bream, roach, etc.). For them, vegetation is not the main component of the diet, but a tasty and healthy addition to animal organisms.
Even by this food criterion alone, one can draw up a certain picture of underwater inhabitants. For example, if you find filamentous algae fouling on coastal stones, then you can count on a meeting with podust, khramul or roach. When you find planktonic algae in large numbers, then look for silver carp, the same roach and other cyprinids (this is from freshwater) and the Pacific sardine (marine species).
In some regions, well-developed higher aquatic vegetation makes it possible to locate grass carp and rudd. And some fish are very fond of the so-called plant detritus (bottom plant accumulations) - these are young lampreys, podusty, khramuli, marinka, ottomans, etc. By the way, it is very interesting that among marine fish there are much fewer phytophages than among freshwater ones, although highly nutritious and tasty algae grow in large quantities in the sea, which are often included in artificial feed when breeding fish of many species.
Of course, every medal has a downside. Sometimes higher and lower aquatic plants cause significant harm to water bodies and fish. First of all, it is the flowering of water. Sometimes reservoirs are overgrown with elodea, reed, burr, lake reeds, cattail, pondweed, horsetail. These plants simply physically displace fish from water bodies, violate the hydrochemical regime. AT recent times they began to deal with this phenomenon, as with weeds on land plantations, using mechanical and chemical extermination of weeds. Processing of reservoirs is often carried out with the help of aviation.
Fish in winter middle lane a very tense situation with oxygen and not only because of the low temperature. Starting from mid-December, part of the aquatic plants of our reservoirs (weeds, egg-pods, elodea, water lilies, etc.) are already dying off, sinking to the bottom in huge quantities and, in the process of decay, absorb so much oxygen that there is little left for the fauna (fish and invertebrates).
Anglers should pay attention to how the aquatic plant relates to the ground. The vast majority of representatives of higher aquatic vegetation take root in the ground. These are pondweed, arrowhead, cattail, burr, reed, horsetail, urut and others. But in the reservoirs there are also free-floating (on the surface, sometimes in the water column), as well as plants with floating leaves (pistia, moss-fontinalis, water paint, marsh flower, water ranunculus, aloe-like telorez, duckweed one- and three-lobed, egg capsule, water lily, walnut water and others).
In many aquatic plants, the entire life cycle passes through the water. Representatives of this group occupy relatively deep places coastal zone, descending down to the border, where a sufficient amount of sunlight necessary for plant nutrition still falls. Of the representatives of this group in our waters, you can most often find water mosses, hornwort, hara, nitella.
The next group is plants that mostly live under water, but push flowers into the air. These are pemphigus, urt, pondweed, elodea, buttercup.
The third group is plants that raise their leaves to the surface of the water (water lily, buckwheat, duckweed).
And, finally, the fourth group is plants that expose more or less of their green stems and leaves above the surface of the water. This group includes horsetails, cattails, reeds, reeds, etc.
Coastal thickets of aquatic (and near-water) vegetation surround a wide continuous strip of the shores of lakes, ponds and rivers. Only very open shores the leeward side of rivers and lakes are devoid of large aquatic plants. As a rule, various types of plants (submerged, or with floating leaves and stems, or rising above water) are arranged in separate bands, grouping mainly depending on the depth and presence of current.
Thickets of aquatic iris, broad-leaved cattail, umbrella susak, branched burbur, string, marsh calla, reeds, reeds, horsetails, etc. stretch over the water surface, forming a thick bristle of narrow, closely standing tall stems and linear leaves above the water surface. It is inconvenient for large and active fish to be among such "hard" vegetation, since, firstly, it is difficult to turn around, and secondly, the fish is often injured on the sharp edges of sedges, ponds, etc.
In addition to "hard" aquatic plants, thickets of "soft" aquatic plants are also found in reservoirs: pierced-leaved, comb-shaped, floating, curly, Canadian elodea, whorled uruti, and dark green hornwort. Such "soft" thickets also pose a danger to fish: juveniles and adults sometimes get entangled in the intricacies of leaves and stems. But on the other hand, near such "soft" thickets you can always meet great amount juvenile fish, which, in turn, can be eaten by larger individuals. So if the angler notices branched bushes of such plants under water, he can safely expect fish in this place. If we move further to the central part of the reservoir, we will see that the "hard" vertical plants give way to a number of plants that do not rise above the water level, except for the flowering period. Their leaves either spread out on the water (water lily, arrowhead, etc.), or rise almost to the surface and are perfectly visible through a thin layer of water (elodea, myriophyllums, water mosses, etc.).
Next come those plants that huddle close to the bottom, and it is difficult to detect them, even bending over the water. Often, however, thickets of various types enter one another, mixed plant communities arise, and in connection with this, mixed biocenoses. In such places, a more diverse species composition of fish is observed. The species composition of thickets of aquatic plants can change significantly over time. This is due to the fact that plants deplete the soil, sucking out the salts they need from it, or release substances harmful to themselves into the soil (bottom of the reservoir), thereby stopping their further development and they die. In addition, changing weather and climatic conditions, anthropogenic impact on water bodies, etc., significantly affect the species composition of plants.
The fish of our reservoirs have a positive attitude towards most aquatic plants: sedge, water lily with a capsule, reeds, duckweed, etc. After all, plants are oxygen, food, shelter, and a substrate for caviar. The occurring facts of inadequate attitude of fish to seemingly favorite plants can be explained different reasons. Aquatic plants are very sensitive to environmental pollution, and poisoning of a reservoir, and, consequently, of aquatic vegetation, imperceptible to humans, may well be felt by fish.
Tench and carp are very sensitive to secretions of aquatic plants, so you are unlikely to find these fish in thickets of arrowhead, hornwort or elodea. And other carp fish and pike, on the contrary, are very fond of the smell of arrowhead flowers. Arrowleaf flowers have three white, rounded petals, and their pedicels contain whitish milky juice, which attracts fish. After flowering, arrowhead shoots appear under water, nodules rich in starch and protein, which cyprinids eat with pleasure. By the way, there is 25% more starch in arrowhead tubers than in potato tubers!
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Near the shore, along the edge of aquatic vegetation, many small fish like to walk in flocks, which in turn are of interest to larger predators (for example, pikes). In heavily overgrown water bodies, fish are often found on the border of open water and thickets, and if aquatic plants are found only in small islands, then look for fish near them. This is general rules, of which, of course, there are exceptions. Let's start with a well-known aquatic plant - reed. For fish, this is a truly terrible plant, but only in windy weather. During the wind, the reed, the stems of which are very stiff and resemble large straw, emits a strong crackle, rustle and rustle that scare away the fish. So there is almost no chance to find fish in a reservoir among reeds in windy weather. Exceptions are fish with poor hearing - for example, catfish, which in any weather, with any wind, can sit in the dense thickets of this plant. In our reservoirs, reed is found almost everywhere in places with a depth of up to 1.5 m. |
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An interesting fact is that the author of the song "The reeds rustled, the trees bent ..." was absolutely botanically illiterate and confused reeds with reeds! It was the reeds that made noise, frightening the fish and the "beloved couple", and the reeds almost did not make noise in the wind. Reed is a good water filter, the spongy structure of its stems contributes to the delivery of oxygen to the root areas, at the same time enriching the bottom soil, which favorably affects the growth of other plants and the well-being of demersal fish species. For this reason, reeds are often used in artificial ponds where fish and aquatic plants are grown together. For the same reason, reed beds are often chosen by pike and other fish for spawning. In calm weather, among the thickets of reeds, you can find roach, carp, rudd, crucian carp, ide, perch, carp, tench and bream. These fish easily betray their presence among the stems when they make their way through them. Small and medium perches love sparsely growing reeds, their slowly swimming flocks move back and forth along the edge of coastal reed beds. A large perch is more likely to be found at the tip of capes of dense reeds (or reeds) protruding into the reservoir, especially if there is sufficient depth at the vegetation boundary. |
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Unlike the "loud" reed, many species of fish prefer to be in the thickets of reeds. Dense reed beds provide excellent hiding places for prey fish and hunter fish. There are many different invertebrates that feed on carp, carp, crucian carp, bream, juvenile pike, perch and pike perch, as well as white bream, ruff, ide, dace and roach. Outwardly, the reed is easily recognizable - a long smooth dark green stem rises above the surface of the water, on which there are no leaves at all. From above, the reed stalk is thinner than from below, and the length of the "reed" can exceed 5 m! Botanists attribute reeds to the sedge family, although outwardly they do not look alike. Breaking the stalk of reeds, we see a porous mass (reminiscent of yellowish foam), penetrated by a network of air channels that release a lot of oxygen into the water, thereby attracting fish and aquatic invertebrates. Usually reeds form dense thickets near the coast. Carp and carp love the juice of freshly cut reeds; by carefully placing several reed stalks in the water, you can attract these fish to the chosen place. |
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Anglers often confuse cattail, or chakan, with reeds. This is a completely different plant, cattail has a rigid stem, on which wide and long leaves are located. This beauty is completed by a dark brown velvety cob with ripe seeds. Dried stalks of cattail with an ear are often placed at home in vases and then remembered about the catches. Cattail grows in places with a depth of up to 1.0-1.5 m. Most often it is found in small swampy reservoirs. Young tender tops of cattail leaves are eaten by crucian carp, tench, carp and roach. The leaves of a mature plant become coarse, except for cupid. On the other hand, pike likes to use cattail as a substrate for laying eggs, which can be found among both young and old cattail. |
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Almost all of our fish avoid thickets of Canadian elodea, or, as it is also called, "water plague". Elodea acquired this name because of its ability to completely fill the reservoir, displacing and surviving all living things. Only grass carp willingly eats elodea leaves, and sometimes you can still meet pike before spawning. |
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Water horsetails are plants that form many shoots and are prone to overgrowth. Among them, botanists distinguish several dozen species, but usually we are faced with marsh, silty or riverine. Outwardly horsetail - very characteristic plant: it has a cylindrical, rather thin, segmented stem, each segment of which is separated from the neighboring one by a ring of small cloves. Horsetails, like reeds, have hollow stems that accumulate oxygen and enrich water with it. This is especially true for fish in winter, in January - February. But be careful! Usually, the ice over a section of the reservoir where horsetails grow in winter is thin, and the angler runs the risk of swimming in such water. |
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Another aquatic plant produces a large amount of oxygen. These are various pondweeds that grow at depths of 2 to 4 m. They cannot bring their leaves to the surface of the water; an attentive angler can see poorly visible flowers that look like small fir cones. All pondweeds - perennials. They perfectly endure the winter in our reservoirs, helping the fish survive oxygen starvation. Some pondweeds develop a long rhizome in the ground in winter, which gives new shoots in spring. Dead shoots of pondweed participate in the formation of bottom silt. Aquatic molluscs, insects and some fish species feed on pondweeds. Many fish use these plants as a substrate for spawning. One of the most common pondweeds - comb - outwardly differs from the rest: its stems are branched, and the leaves are thin and narrow. This pondweed is found in shallow water, its flexible stems meander and sway. Its thickets are often inhabited by schools of fry, which attract hungry adult fish. The next common species is the pierced-leaved pondweed. It is most common in our reservoirs, has long branched stems and rounded leaves, as if strung on a stem (hence the name). By the way, it is this pond that owners of water motor vehicles do not like so much - the plants are easily screwed onto the propellers of outboard motors and wound on oars. The tops of young leaves of almost all types of pondweeds are a favorite food for carp, roach, bream, ide, bleak, and carp. In addition to herbivorous fish, many animal-eating fish graze around the ponds, as various invertebrates, insect larvae, mollusks and other aquatic organisms, which are attracted by the high oxygen content, live in the thickets. |
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Another plant popular with our fish is urut. Hydrobotanists distinguish five of its types, among them the most common in our reservoirs are spiked urut and whorled urut. Spicy urut grows at depths of 0.3 to 2 m, and whorled urut grows at depths of 3-4 m. Urut thickets usually grow on silty soils and love calcium-rich water. When the calcium content in the water is high, the leaves of the uruthi become covered with a lime crust. Urut spiky is very sensitive to water temperature and less to light. Underwater meadows from uruti play a very important role in the life of the reservoir. In its thickets there are large accumulations of small invertebrates, which are food for many inhabitants of the reservoir. Flocks of perch and tench love to pluck the leaves of the plant from invertebrates, and the urut itself is an excellent addition to the diet for bream, large roach, ide and other fish. In addition, the urut serves as a substrate for fish eggs and a refuge for the entire animal population of the reservoir, especially for fry. In many water bodies, pike use uruti thickets for ambush. |
Water lily (Water lily) |
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Water lily is a floating plant, which is often called the "water queen", because it is one of the most beautiful and largest flowers of our strip. These plants belong to the genus of water lilies, or nymphaeum, which has about 40 plant species. Sometimes it is called a water lily. Water lilies are extraordinary plants in many ways. They live both in very warm and through freezing water bodies and are distributed almost everywhere: from the forest tundra to the southern tip of the American continent. These amphibious plants are able to live (give leaves, bloom and bear fruit) both in water and on land (if the water level in the reservoir has dropped significantly). Fish highly appreciate both the aromatic qualities of the water lily (many fish are attracted by the smell of its flowers), and the edible ones. By the way, water lily seeds are spread over long distances by fish and birds. The water lily grows at depths of 2.5-3 m, but now this wonderful plant can be found less and less in our reservoirs, and it is listed in the Red Book. Thickets of water lilies in closed reservoirs like carp, carp, crucian carp, roach, bream, tench, perch (small), in rivers - rudd, bleak, ide, pike, roach. The diet of cyprinids includes only the youngest tender leaves, as well as water lily rhizomes, which contain a lot of starch, sugar and vegetable protein. Often thickets of water lilies are scattered in spots along coastline behind the belt of narrow-leaved cattail and lake reed. An interesting fact is that water lilies rise to the surface of the water strictly at six o'clock in the morning, open their inflorescences, and close strictly at six in the evening and again go under water. But this applies only to ideal weather, and as soon as bad weather approaches, water lily flowers, regardless of time, go under water, or on such days they are not shown at all. For anglers, the absence of water lily flowers on the surface is a highly visible sign of changing weather. |
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Many people confuse the white water lily and the yellow water lily. The yellow capsule grows at depths of 2.5-3 m and is a characteristic plant of floodplain reservoirs. Carp, roach, crucian carp, carp, bream, pike perch, ruff, tench, bleak, ide, bream, small perch, pike, roach, grass carp and even eel (artificially launched, on Lake Seliger he chose her thickets) . The diet of many cyprinids includes only the most tender young leaves (as in the water lily). Old leaves become tough, rough and unsuitable for fish, but tiny snails and small leeches love to settle on the underside, which are excellent food. Plants can not only injure fish with their sharp edges, but also harm fish at night or in winter (with short daylight hours) because in the dark they absorb oxygen and emit carbon dioxide harmful to fish. Plants are characterized by the process of photosynthesis, which consists of two phases. During the day (in the light), plants actively absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen in an incomparably greater amount than they consume during respiration, that is, they enrich the water with it. In the dark, the absorption of carbon dioxide by plants stops, and they only consume oxygen, which becomes less and less in the water. With the rapid growth of aquatic vegetation and high temperature water in small lakes, fish can die at night, but even if it does not occur, the activity of searching for food in fish decreases sharply. With the beginning of the light phase, aquatic plants vigorously absorb carbon dioxide and process it into a green mass. An intensive release of oxygen begins, and the feeding activity of the fish is restored. By noon, the process of photosynthesis slows down, there is less oxygen in the water, and the fish are less active. For this reason, the feeding activity of fish in the daytime is reduced compared to dawns: the fish are already satiated. In addition, in winter, at any time of the day, dead plants rot under the ice, absorbing oxygen, especially in stagnant water bodies. It is in these places that the mass death of fish occurs. |
 The duckweed needs no special introduction. Everyone who has been near lakes, ponds or old ditches with water in the summer has seen this plant, covering the surface of the water with a dense emerald carpet. Several types of duckweed, which are members of the duckweed family, are widespread throughout the world, including Russia. These are small plants floating on the surface or in the water column, consisting of fronds - leaf-shaped stems, fastened several pieces together, from which a single short thread-like root extends. At the base of the leaf there is a lateral pocket in which a tiny inflorescence can develop, consisting of two staminate and one pistillate flowers. In natural reservoirs, duckweeds rarely bloom. Flowers have a simple structure: stamens consist of only one stamen, and pistils have one pistil; there are no petals or sepals in such flowers. During the warm period of time, the plant reproduces vegetatively, with the help of young fronds that separate from the mother plant. Duckweed winters in the form of buds, sinking to the bottom along with a dead plant. Three-lobed duckweed grows relatively weakly, lives in the water column and rises to the surface during flowering. Differs in green translucent spoon-shaped leaves 5-10 mm long. The fronds are interconnected for a long time, forming balls floating in the water column and floating to the surface during flowering. Duckweed strongly branches and forms a blanket of small bright green leaves with one root at the bottom on the surface of the water. Very rarely flowers appear in May-June.
Multi-rooted duckweed, or ordinary multi-rooted duckweed - Lemna rolurhyza \u003d Spirodela rolurhyza Multi-rooted duckweed is not very common in the same reservoirs where two types of duckweed grow abundantly. From the underside of each stalk, which has a rounded ovoid shape, a bunch of reddish or white roots departs. Blooms rarely in May-June. In a polyroot, the upper side of the leaf blade is dark green in color, with clearly visible arcuate veins, and the underside, immersed in water, is purple-purple. Plate up to 6 mm in diameter. All these types of duckweed are cold-resistant and photophilous. They live in ponds with stagnant or slowly flowing water. When caring for a reservoir, it is necessary to constantly catch a part of the population or, by cleaning the water, create conditions that are not conducive to rapid growth. Reproduction is mainly vegetative and very fast. Each stalk, similar to a small leaf, buds off rather quickly new and new parts of the stalks, which, still having a connection with the main stalks, give rise to new young plants. Species with individuals floating on the surface of the water can completely “drag out” a small reservoir in a short time. Duckweed duckweed and multi-rooted duckweed are especially aggressive. These plants are rarely deliberately introduced into the reservoir. More often they get there with the help of birds, frogs, newts and when transplanting other plants. It is difficult to completely get rid of duckweed, but its numbers can be limited by driving plants to one place with a net or a jet of water from garden hose, and then catching with the same net. The extracted mass can be used for compost production and as bird feed. These plants clean water from carbon dioxide and supply oxygen, serve as food for fish and protection from sunlight. But despite this, duckweed should never be deliberately introduced into a pond, since once it has appeared in your pond, it will be almost impossible to eradicate it. Also be careful when bringing other plants into the pond - make sure that there are no duckweeds on the plant itself and in the water. |
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Usually there are two types of duckweed Small duckweed (L. minor) - see picture on the left and Three-lobed duckweed (L. trisulca) - see picture on the right. Lesser duckweed inhabits many water bodies and multiplies extremely rapidly. The most common pond plant with flat elliptical leaves 3-4.5 mm long, floating on the surface of the water.
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