Which is often confused with a lotus, and in Europe it is called a water lily, without which it is impossible to imagine not a single pond in French castles and not a single quiet river backwater in the Russian hinterland, this is - white water lily.
Description and features of the white water lily
Indeed on numerous photo white water lily is very similar to those filling fabulous reservoirs in Far East Asia, but, it has nothing to do with the lotus. This aquatic flower is perennial with very large leaves, flowers and roots:
Leaves
The shape resembles a heart, very large - up to 35 cm in diameter, the seamy part of the leaf is deep purple, due to the high saturation with anthocyanins.
The petiole holding the leaf blade sometimes goes very deeply into the bush, 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 bog, 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 coarse, bark develops on them. A water lily, growing in a shallow forest swampy reservoir for many years, practically turns into a woody liana.
Root
Rhizome at white water lily huge, the older, the more massive and ramified the root. It grows constantly, is located horizontally, is painted in dark brown shades and is covered with buds and remnants of dead old cuttings of leaves.
It is at the root that most of tannins and rare alkaloids, starch, protein and sugars, due to which the plant is 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-living plants.
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 shades.
Itself possesses interesting feature in "behavior" - after sunrise, at about 6-7 in the morning, it opens, but in the evening, even before sunset, at about 19 hours - it closes and goes under the water, emerging only at dawn.
Flowering begins at the end of June, in too shaded places or in very cool climates it lags behind by a month - water lilies bloom in July. They bloom until autumn, the same way, 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. “Packaged” in a box, they ripen under water, and in the fall, after flowering ends, the boxes break 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 a white water lily
You can talk endlessly about the benefits of a flower, as well as about its beauty. Moreover, beneficial features are not limited to use in pharmacology or home recipes, they are much broader:
Regarding this long time the term dominated - "economic purpose", and its yield, as wild plant, from the point of view of planning the "national economy" was laid down in normative acts in this form - "the yield of dry rhizomes - 2 t / ha".
Of course, this concerned those areas where the plant "dominated" in nature. This approach led to the introduction of white water lily v Red Book, as an almost exterminated species. The composition is unique, among its chemical constituents are:
alkaloids, including the rarest ones, for example, nifmeine;
glycosides, including nymphaline;
oxalic acid;
bioflavonoid compounds;
starch (up to 49% in the core of the root);
essential fatty saturated oils;
vitamins, especially a lot - of group "C".
The extracts are included in the pharmacological formulations of agents intended for the treatment of:
neuroses;
neuralgia different types;
migraine;
hepatitis;
gallstone diseases;
cystitis;
pulmonary forms of tuberculosis;
trichomoniasis;
oncological tumors.
In the cosmetic industry, water lily is part of many drugs that are effective against:
seborrhea;
pigmentation, including freckles;
caring, moisturizers for the skin.
Of course, there are also a lot of folk recipes that use parts of this plant.
Protection and reproduction of the white water lily
Breeds white water lily plant both vegetatively and by seeds. In a garden setting. As a rule, they prefer to decorate ponds included in the landscape with hybrid decorative varieties that have different colors, sizes and color combinations - for example, species are very popular in which water lily — white and her egg-capsule – yellow.
If there is a desire to grow not a decorative, but a real water lily, then this is quite easy to do. Do not touch the root, as this will break legislative act, securing the status of the flower and regulating guarding the white water lily as a rare botanical species.
In the fall, when the seed pods emerge, they must be collected from the water surface. After collecting, the box needs to be planted in very viscous soil, literally - a slurry, which should be in a sufficiently voluminous pot.
At the bottom of this "incubator" it is necessary to put a weight, 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 will overwinter in them. If planting occurs in the spring, then, by that time, the box opens itself.
As for germination in a pot and its immersion in a pond, then, of course, this is necessary for landscaping 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 in shallow garden lakes it is quite possible to reach the bottom with your hands, for deep reservoirs it germinates in the same way, in a pot with a weight, but this pot must be peat.
When immersed, sooner or later it will dissolve, 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 floristry salon that specializes in landscaping landscape reservoirs. Their cost is relatively low, and the seedling bush itself.
As a rule, already has one, giving a complete picture of the plant. Usually they are 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 vary depending on the variety.
Water lily pure white it is rare 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 ranked 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 settlement 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 have 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 apply 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 nations... Unlike the lotus, which is an important symbol for the Oriental people, the water lily is a European plant.
Our ancestors, the Slavs, believed in the mystical properties of this flower. He could protect people from evil forces and other troubles, help defeat enemies, or, on the contrary, destroy a person who was looking for a water lily with an evil intent. Among the Slavs, the water lily also has other names: overpower-grass, white water lily and others. Also, since ancient times, this plant has been considered a symbol of purity, purity and delicate beauty. Often the overpowering grass is found in stories about mermaids, which justifies another name - the 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 among the ancient Greeks. According to legend, the nymph, sunburned with unrequited love for Hercules, turned into a water lily. There is a similar story in the legends 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 between the past and 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 signify a cherished desire. If you stuff such a pattern on the body, then the dream will certainly come true, because a water lily appears from a star that has fallen from heaven to the lake.
The mermaid flower is stuffed by people who often take long trips. It is believed that the water lily can protect against evil people, disease and misfortune, 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 choose a sketch for the back, because there is enough space to fill a large drawing, it is better to display the variety of colors and the 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 from the master in tattooing and planning the placement of the sketch.
Small water lilies in black and white also look good on the wrist or higher on the forearm. This option combines well with other sketches, it is easily supplemented with meaningful inscriptions (this is especially important for people who fill a flower to fulfill a wish).
You can also fill a water lily on your foot. Best of all, this idea will look in realism, using a large number of colors. Typically, such sketches do not require supplementation 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 specific part of the body. In any case, regardless of the colors of the pattern, the water lily tattoo in all countries is interpreted in the same way.
Usually water lilies are stuffed either in black (if it comes 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 filled by girls, while guys usually prefer more "aggressive" and courageous sketches. However, there is also a nuance here. The water lily is often used in male tattoos when combined with other designs correctly. The plant looks good in combination with the "Japan" style, for example, with carps. You can also fill a water lily in black and combine it with dotwork (dotted drawing) or blackwork (dense black paint).
As for the meaning, it is the same for both men and women, the only difference is 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 filling 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 style of "realism". This option will allow you to better convey the idea of \ u200b \ u200bthe drawing, as well as it is interesting to beat the combination of shades.
Realism is often combined with Japan. This combination is more common among men, although with the 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, the addition (or graphics) with watercolors, looks no less attractive. The black water lily conveys the meaning of the tattoo, and the bright drips of paint prevent the drawing from becoming too gloomy or boring.
What to combine a water lily with?
In addition to carp, other inhabitants of the lake and forest, for example, frogs or butterflies, go well with water lilies. The combination of a mermaid flower with dragonflies or other plants also looks interesting in the tattoo. However, most often water lilies are complemented 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 achieve goals. Stuff beautiful flower, what if the cherished dream will come true?
Water lily is the queen of rivers and lakes, a mermaid flower, a nymphea, a water lily, an overpower-grass, an alluring 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, becoming 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 magic herbs, along with the weeping herb, blooming fern, tirlich, adam's head, rupture-grass, orchilin, cover and bad-wind. The water lily in this list was listed under the name "overpower-grass". She was endowed with the ability to guard travelers. The dried rhizome was put in a bag or vessel, which, when setting off on a journey, was hung on the chest.
FLOWER NYMPH
The scientific Latin name for the water lily, Nymphaea, is every bit as poetic. It comes from the Greek "nymph", which means "chrysalis". V 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. From the name of Nympheus, the name of a whole botanical family was formed - nymphea, the type genus of which was the water lily.
LOTUS EFFECT
The purity of the water lilies, which the poets sing about, 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, was solved by scientists relatively recently. In the 1990s, the German botanist W. Bartlott examined the leaf surface of another aquatic plant, the lotus, using a scanning probe microscope with a very strong magnification. What he saw there, the scientist patented as a discovery called the "lotus effect."
Various paints and materials have now been created to imitate this effect. The surface covered with them does not get dirty. The most valuable such invention turned out to be for hospitals, where at door handles millions of bacteria are ingested every day. Made from similar materials, they do not leave bacteria any chance to gain a foothold on their surface. The real lotus and water lily are not related plants, but the special surface of the leaves and flowers is the same.
LOVE POTION
In ancient European herbalists, the water lily was listed as a love potion, with the help of which it was possible to bewitch the object of unrequited love.
Nowadays, the chemical composition of water lily rhizomes has been thoroughly studied. They contain the alkaloid nympheine, which acts on the central nervous system, and the glycoside nymphaline, which has sedative and hypnotic effects. Sometimes you can find a mention of the use of extracts different types water lilies in perfumery as aphrodisiacs.
PETALS AND STEAMS
The nymphaean family is one of the oldest flowering plants on earth. They belong to the group of so-called basal dicotyledons, which have preserved many unusual features of ancient angiosperms. For example, the number of flower organs - petals, stamens and pistils - can be almost anything. In addition, water lilies do not have a clear border between petals and stamens: if you "disassemble" a flower into "details", you can see the gradual transition of some organs to others. The sepals of the water lilies growing in our reservoirs are green, and the petals are white. Only a few species live in: the snow-white water lily (Nymphaea candida), the white water lily (Nymphaea alba), and the northern Siberian species - the tetrahedral water lily (Nymphaea tetragona), also with white, but miniature flowers. The white water lily is much less common than the snow-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 these are those obtained at the end of the 19th century by the French breeder J. B. Latour-Marliak. 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 severe frosts and winter well in our conditions. They do not form seeds, which allows the cultivars to be kept pure.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE WHITE JUG
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, around 18. In cloudy weather, they may not open at all, but before the rain they are sure to hide under the water.
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF
Kingdom: plants.
Department: angiosperms.
Class: dicotyledonous.
Order: water lily.
Family: water lily, or nymphaean.
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 - and this is what white water lilies are called - flowers are familiar and uninteresting, 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 certain species). Let's take a closer look at the features external structure aquatic representative of the flora and learn a number of interesting facts about him.
Descriptions
In the photo of a water lily, you can see that this plant is distinguished by its amazing grace, natural harmony. It is a perennial, belongs to the Nymphaean family (Water lilies), it can be found in water bodies almost throughout the globe but prefers temperate and tropical climates.
Distinctive features of a water lily are as follows:
- Powerful rhizome with a large number of long roots, due to which the plant is kept in the ground.
- The stem is transformed into a rhizome or tuber.
- Large White flower with a yellow center. It is characterized by a symmetrical shape, a long peduncle 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 submerge 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 which emergent leaves develop.
- The surface of the surface 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 the underwater multifoliate.
The plant prefers to grow in bodies of 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 snow-white colors we are accustomed to, you can find the following color options:
- Blue.
- Purple.
- Lilac.
- Creamy.
- Pink.
- Yellow.
- Red.
Bright colors are inherent in those plants that grow in the warmer corners of the planet, a more modest design is inherent in water lilies - residents of Russia.
Plant features
After getting 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, the water lily flowers bloom, but close at sunset.
- Flowering occurs from the second half of May to the end of August. The life span of one flower is short - no more than 4 days.
- Often, a water lily is confused with another aquatic representative of the flora, a water lily, distinctive feature which - flowers of a bright yellow color.
You can meet the classic version of a water lily - a white water lily - in central Russia, on Far East, Central Asia.
Reproduction
Consider how lilies reproduce. The flower pollinated by insects sinks to the bottom, where the polysperm ripens - the fruit, appearance similar to a berry. It contains more than a thousand seeds - small, black, fish-like fish that float to the surface after the berry dies. Swimming on they often become food for fish and birds, and are also carried by the current. Those seeds that have been preserved are gradually freed from the surrounding mucus and sink to the bottom, where they germinate.
Also, water lilies have the ability to reproduce by rhizome, this is the method that is considered the main one for them.
Myths and legends
Folk beliefs are attributed to the plant magical properties, calling it "overpower-grass", is the color of mermaid. It was believed that the water lily protects, helps to defeat the enemy, but if the thoughts of the person using it are black, the magic will be turned against him.
Scandinavian legends tell that each water lily has its own elf friend, who lives exactly as long 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, being primitive animals.
- The water sheet contains a large number of air located in special cavities. Therefore, it does not immerse itself in water if something overweight, such as a bird, is placed on it.
- The plant has a pleasant aroma that attracts insects for pollination. Sometimes the beetles trapped 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 the flower captivity.
- It is considered an amphibian - after drying out of its native reservoir, it is able to survive on land.
Water lilies are indicators of the ecological situation in the reservoir - if their number is sharply reduced, then the lake or pond is polluted.
Usage
Water lilies, photos of 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 was a talisman for those traveling to distant countries, so travelers always took with them a small amulet with water lily leaves and 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 involuntary culprit Trojan War, dressed in a wreath of water lilies for her wedding.
- Folk medicine uses leaves, rhizomes and large flowers... They help to get rid of headaches, help to overcome insomnia, are indicated for diarrhea, pathologies of the gallbladder. A decoction of flowers, applied externally, relieves skin inflammation.
- 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 for food by monks and nuns, but later studies proved that this approach was erroneous, the nymphea 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 began to be actively used to decorate water bodies. Gradually, through the efforts of breeders, it was possible to develop new varieties, including dwarf ones, with pointed petals and bright colors, which have earned the love of fans. landscape design.
- Water lily seeds, pre-fried, are a great alternative to coffee.
Water lily- a plant of amazing beauty, which is a real decoration of the reservoir. The unusualness of the nymphea, 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 - scorpion fish, etc. By the way, coral fish, colored to match the surrounding bright coral reefs, also mimic these "hard" thickets.
Another important point is that aquatic plants are a food source for many fish. Of course, we must make allowances for our climate, since in winter the amount of vegetation in many reservoirs is sharply reduced and 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 this nutritional criterion alone can make a kind of picture of underwater inhabitants. For example, if you find filamentous algae fouling on the coastal stones, then you can count on meeting with podust, temples or roach. When you find planktonic algae in large quantities, then look for silver carp, the same roach and other cyprinids (this is from freshwater) and Pacific sardine (marine species).
In some regions, well-developed higher aquatic vegetation makes it possible to locate grass carp and redfin. 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 sea fish there are far 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 feeds for 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, this is the blooming of water. Sometimes reservoirs are overgrown with elodea, reed, headhead, lake reeds, cattail, pondweed, horsetail. These plants simply physically displace fish from reservoirs, violate the hydrochemical regime. V recent times they began to fight this phenomenon, as with weeds on land plantations, using mechanical and chemical extermination of weeds. Treatment of reservoirs is often carried out with the help of aviation.
In winter, the fish middle lane a very tense situation with oxygen and not only because of the low temperature. Starting from mid-December, some of the aquatic plants of our reservoirs (pondweed, egg capsules, elodea, water lilies, etc.) have already died off, sink to the bottom in huge quantities and, in the process of decay, absorb so much oxygen that little remains for the fauna (fish and invertebrates).
Anglers should pay attention to how the aquatic plant relates to the soil. The overwhelming majority of representatives of higher aquatic vegetation take root in the ground. These are rdest, arrowhead, cattail, headhead, reed, horsetail, urut and others. But in reservoirs there are also free-floating (on the surface, sometimes in the water column), as well as plants with floating leaves (pistia, moss-fontinalis, vodokras, marsh flower, buttercup water, aloevid telescope, duckweed one- and three-lobed, egg capsule, water lily, walnut water and others).
Many aquatic plants have all life cycle passes through the water column. Representatives of this group occupy relatively deep places coastal zone, going down to the border where there is still a sufficient amount of sunlight necessary for plant nutrition. Of the representatives of this group in our waters, one can most often find water mosses, hornwort, haru, nitella.
The next group - plants, mainly living under water, but pushing flowers into the air. These are pemphigus, urut, rdesta, elodea, buttercup.
The third group consists of plants that raise their leaves to the surface of the water (water lily, buckwheat, duckweed).
And, finally, the fourth group is plants that exhibit above the water surface more or less of their green stems and leaves. This group includes horsetails, cattails, reeds, reeds, etc.
Coastal thickets of aquatic (and near-aquatic) vegetation are surrounded by a wide continuous strip of 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, different types of plants (submerged in water, or with floating leaves and stems, or rising above the water) are arranged in separate stripes, grouping mainly depending on the depth and the presence of the current.
Near the shore, there are thickets of iris, broad-leaved cattail, Umbelliferae Umbelliferae, Birchhead, string, calla marsh, reeds, reeds, horsetails, etc., forming a dense bristle above the water surface of narrow, closely standing tall stems and linear leaves. 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 are often injured by the sharp edges of sedges, pondweed, etc.
In addition to "hard" aquatic plants, thickets of "soft" aquatic plants are also found in water bodies: pondweed, crested, floating, curly, Elodea canadensis, whorled uruta, and dark green hornwort. Such "soft" thickets are also fraught with danger for 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 find great amount young fish, which, in turn, can be fed by larger individuals. So if a fisherman 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 "rigid" vertical plants give way to a number of plants that do not rise above the water level, with the exception of the flowering period. Their leaves either spread over the water (water lily, arrowhead, etc.), or rise almost to the surface and are perfectly visible through a thin layer of water (elodea, myriophyllum, water mosses, etc.).
Further there are those plants that close close to the bottom, and it is difficult to find them, even leaning over the water. Often, however, thickets of different types enter one another, mixed plant communities arise, and in this regard, 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 (the bottom of the reservoir), thereby ceasing their further development and perish. 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 eggs. The encountered facts of inadequate attitude of fish to seemingly beloved plants can be explained different reasons... Aquatic plants are very sensitive to environmental pollution, and the poisoning of a reservoir, which is imperceptible to humans, and, consequently, aquatic vegetation, may well be felt by fish.
Tench and carp are very sensitive to the 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. Arrowhead flowers have three white rounded petals, and their pedicels contain a whitish milky sap, which attracts fish. After flowering, shoots appear under the water, nodules rich in starch and protein, which carp fish eat with pleasure. By the way, there is 25% more starch in arrowhead tubers than in potato tubers!
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Near the coast, along the edge of aquatic vegetation, many small fish like to walk in schools, which in turn are of interest to larger predators (for example, pikes). In heavily overgrown reservoirs, fish are often found at the border of open water and thickets, and if aquatic plants are found only in small islands, then look for fish near them. it general rules, of which, of course, there are exceptions. Let's start with the well-known aquatic plant - the reed. For fish, this is a truly scary plant, but only in windy weather. During the wind, the reed, the stems of which are very hard and resemble large straw, makes a strong crackle, rustle and rustle, which scare the fish away. So there is almost no chance of finding 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 reed that made noise, frightening the fish and the "beloved couple", and the reeds hardly make any 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 benthic 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 laying eggs. 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-sized perches love sparsely growing reeds, and their slow-swimming flocks move back and forth along the edge of the coastal reed beds. Large perch is more likely to be found at the tip of the headlands of dense reed (or reed), protruding into the reservoir, especially if there is sufficient depth at the border of vegetation. |
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Unlike the "loud" reed, fish of many species prefer to be in the thickets of reeds. Dense reeds provide excellent hiding places for prey fish and hunter fish. There are many different invertebrates that feed on carp, carp, crucian carp, bream, juveniles of pike, perch and pike perch, as well as silver bream, ruff, ide, dace and roach. Outwardly, the reed is easily recognizable - a long smooth dark green stem rises above the water surface, on which there are no leaves at all. The top of the reed stem is thinner than the bottom, and the length of the "reed" can exceed 5 m! Botanists attribute the reeds to the sedge family, although outwardly they are not similar. Having broken the stem of the reeds, we will see a porous mass (reminiscent of yellowish foam), permeated with a network of air ducts that release a lot of oxygen into the water, thereby attracting fish and aquatic invertebrates. Reeds usually form dense thickets near the coast. Carp and carp love the juice of freshly cut reeds; By carefully putting a few reed stalks into the water, you can attract these fish to the chosen place. |
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Anglers are often confused with reed cattail, or chakan. This is a completely different plant, the cattail has a rigid stem, on which wide and long leaves are located. This beauty is completed by a dark brown velvety ear with ripe seeds. Dried stalks of cattail with a cob are often put in vases at home and then remember the catches. Cattail grows in places with a depth of 1.0-1.5 m. Most often it is found in small swampy water bodies. Young tender tops of cattail leaves eat crucian carp, tench, carp and roach. The leaves of a mature plant become coarse; only cupid feeds on them. But the cattail loves to use as a substrate for laying eggs, the pike, which can be found among both young and old cattails. |
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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 leaves of elodea, and sometimes you can still find a pike before spawning. |
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Aquatic 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 swamp, silty or riverine. Outwardly, horsetail is very characteristic plant: it has a cylindrical, rather thin, segmented stem, each segment of which is separated from the adjacent one by a ring of small dentate leaves. Horsetails, like reeds, have hollow stems that store oxygen and enrich water with it. This is especially true for fish in winter, in January - February. But be careful! Usually, the ice over the 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 large amounts of oxygen. These are various pondweeds that grow at depths from 2 to 4 m. They cannot stand leaves on the surface of the water; an attentive fisherman can see poorly visible flowers, similar to small spruce cones. All rdesty - perennial plants... They perfectly endure winter in our reservoirs, helping fish to survive oxygen starvation. In some pondweeds, a long rhizome develops in the soil in winter, which gives new shoots in spring. Dead pond shoots are involved in the formation of the bottom silt. Pond fish feed on aquatic mollusks, insects and some fish species. Many fish use these plants as a spawning substrate. One of the most common pondweed - 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 wriggle and sway. Its thickets are often inhabited by schools of fry, which attract hungry adult fish. The next common type is pierced leaf pond. It is most common in our reservoirs, has long branched stems and rounded leaves, as if strung on the stem (hence the name). By the way, this particular pond is so disliked by the owners of water motor vehicles - the plants are easily screwed onto the propellers of outboard motors and wound onto the oars. The tops of young leaves of almost all types of pondweed are a favorite food for carp, roach, bream, ide, bleak, and carp. In addition to herbivorous fish, many animal-eating fish graze around pondweed, since various invertebrates, insect larvae, mollusks and other aquatic organisms live in the thickets, which are attracted here by the increased oxygen content. |
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Another plant popular with our fish is urut. Hydrobotanists distinguish five types of it, among them the most widespread in our reservoirs are Urut spicate and Urut whorled. Uruti spicata grows at depths of 0.3 to 2 m, and whorled urut grows at depths of 3-4 m. Uruti thickets usually grow on silty soils and like water rich in calcium. When the calcium content of the water is high, the leaves of the uruti become covered with a calcareous crust. Urut spikelet 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, large concentrations of small invertebrates are noted, 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, urut serves as a substrate for fish eggs and a refuge for the entire animal population of the reservoir, especially for fry. In many bodies of water, the pike uses the thickets of the uruchi for ambush. |
Water Lily (Water Lily) |
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The water lily is a floating plant that is often called the "water queen" because it is one of the most beautiful and largest flowers in our strip. These plants belong to the genus of water lilies, or nymphs, which has about 40 plant species. It is sometimes called a water lily. Water lilies are extraordinary plants in many ways. They live 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 value 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. A water lily grows at depths of 2.5-3 m, but now this wonderful plant can be found less and less often in our reservoirs, and it is listed in the Red Book. Thickets of water lilies in closed reservoirs like to visit carp, carp, crucian carp, roach, borer, tench, perch (small), in rivers - rudd, bleak, ide, pike, roach. The diet of carps includes only the youngest tender leaves, as well as the rhizomes of the water lily, which contain a lot of starch, sugar and vegetable protein. Often overgrown water lilies are scattered in spots along foreshore behind the belt of narrow-leaved cattail and lake reeds. An interesting fact is that water lilies at six o'clock in the morning float to the surface of the water, open their inflorescences, and close strictly at six in the evening and again go under the water. But this applies only to ideal weather, and as soon as bad weather approaches, the flowers of the water lily, regardless of the time, go under the water, or on such days they are not shown at all. For anglers, the absence of water lily flowers on the surface is a well-visible sign of a change in the weather. |
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Many people confuse the white water lily and the yellow water lily. The yellow egg capsule grows at a depth of 2.5-3 m and is a characteristic plant of floodplain water bodies. Carp, roach, crucian carp, carp, bream, pike perch, ruff, tench, bleak, ide, brood, small perch, pike, roach, grass carp and even eel love to visit the thickets of egg-pods (artificially launched, on Lake Seliger he chose its thickets) ... The diet of many cyprinids includes only the most delicate young leaves (like a water lily). Older leaves become tough, coarse and unsuitable for food for fish, but tiny snails and small leeches like to settle on the underside of them, 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) by absorbing oxygen in the dark and releasing 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 emit oxygen in an incomparably larger amount than they consume when breathing, that is, they enrich water with it. In the dark, the absorption of carbon dioxide by plants stops, and they only consume oxygen, which in the water becomes less and less. With the rapid growth of aquatic vegetation and high temperature of water in small lakes, fish may be frozen at night, but even if it does not occur, the activity of fish searching for food is sharply reduced. With the onset of the light phase, aquatic plants vigorously absorb carbon dioxide and process it into green mass. An intensive release of oxygen begins, and the food activity of the fish is restored. By noon, the process of photosynthesis slows down, oxygen in the water becomes less, and the fish are less active. For this reason, the food activity of fish in the daytime decreases compared to the dawn: the fish is already full. In addition, in winter, at any time of the day under the ice, dead plants rot, absorbing oxygen, especially in stagnant water bodies. It is in these places that the mass death of fish occurs. |
 Duckweed needs no special introduction. Everyone who has been near lakes, ponds or old ditches with water in the summer has seen this plant, dragging the surface of the water with a dense emerald carpet. Several species of duckweed, which are part of the duckweed family, are widespread throughout the world, including in Russia. These are small plants floating on the surface or in the water column, consisting of fronds - leafy stems, fastened by several pieces to each other, from which a single short filiform root departs. At the base of the fronds, there is a lateral pocket in which a tiny inflorescence can develop, consisting of two staminate and one pistillate flowers. In natural reservoirs, duckweed rarely bloom. Flowers have a simple structure: staminate flowers consist of only one stamen, and pistillate flowers have one pistil; there are no petals or sepals in such flowers. During the warm period, the plant reproduces vegetatively, with the help of young fronds separating from the mother plant. Duckweed hibernates in the form of buds, sinking to the bottom together 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 fronds 5-10 mm long. The fronds are interconnected for a long time, forming balls that float in the water column and float to the surface during flowering. Duckweed strongly branches and forms on the surface of the water a blanket of small bright green fronds with one root below. Flowers very rarely appear in May-June.
Duckweed mnogorennikovaya, or common duckweed - Lemna polуrhyza = Spirodela polуrhyza The mnogokornnik is not found very often in the same water bodies where two types of duckweed abundantly grow. A bunch of reddish or white roots extends from the underside of each stalk, which has a rounded ovoid shape. It rarely blooms in May-June. In a multiroot plant, the upper side of the leaf blade is dark green, with well-visible arcuate veins, and the lower side, immersed in water, is violet-purple. The plate is up to 6 mm in diameter. All these types of duckweeds are cold-resistant and light-requiring. They live in reservoirs with stagnant or slowly flowing water. When caring for a reservoir, you have to constantly catch a part of the population or by purifying the water to create conditions that are not conducive to rapid growth. Reproduction is mostly vegetative and very fast. Each stem, which looks like a small leaf, buds out from itself rather quickly new and new parts of the stems, which, while still having a connection with the main stems, give rise to new young plants. Species with individuals floating on the surface of the water can completely "tighten" a small body of water in a short time. Humpbacked and multi-rooted duckweed are especially aggressive. These plants are rarely deliberately introduced into the body of water. Most 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 number can be limited by driving the plants to one place with a net or a stream of water from garden hose, and then fishing with the same net. The extracted mass can be used for compost and as bird feed. These plants cleanse water bodies of carbon dioxide and supply oxygen, serve as food for fish and protect from sunlight. But despite this, you should never intentionally bring duckweed into a pond, since if it appears in your pond, it will be almost impossible to eradicate it. Be careful also when bringing other plants into the pond - make sure that there is no duckweed on the plant itself and in the water. |
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Usually there are two types of duckweed Lesser duckweed (L. minor) - see the picture on the left and the three-lobed duckweed (L. trisulca) - see the picture on the right. Duckweed duckweed inhabits many water bodies and multiplies extremely quickly. The most common pond plant with flat elliptical fronds 3-4.5 mm long, floating on the surface of the water.
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