Aquatic, Bog and Swamp Flowers

Fragrant Water Lily (Nymphaea odorata) Pink and White forms: A floating aquatic with fragrant white or pink flowers. Found in calm water. Blooms June - September. Location: Black Moshannon SP, PA.

Grass Pink Orchid  or Colopogon (Colopogon pulchellus): One basal leave clasps the stalk. Found in bogs and swamps. Photo by Dimitri Tundra.

Rose Pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides): A single flower and one mid-stem clasping leaf. Another bog orchid. Photo by Dimitri Tundra.

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Crimson-eyed Rose Mallow (Hibiscus palustris forma peckii):  Blooms July to September in marshes. Can grow to 7 feet tall. Location: Jug Bay, Patuxent River, MD. Photo by Ken Clark.

Swamp Rose Mallow ( Hibiscus palustris): Similar to above but with pink petals. Location: Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, MD.

 

 

 

 

 

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American Water Willow (Justicia americana): Small white flowers with orchid/purple markings. Grows along banks of streams, rivers and lakes. Roots are always submerged. Location: Potomac River, Great Falls National Park. Photo by Ken Clark.

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Cranefly Orchis (Tipularia discolor): Green-brown flowers on a leafless stalk. Grows in swampy areas. A single broad, lanceolete leaf sprouts in the fall and winters-over to wither away in the spring. Location: Jug Bay, Patuxent River, MD. Photo by Ken Clark.

Golden Crest (Lophiola aura): A bog plant of the east coast from New Jersey south to Florida. Photo by Dimitri Tundra.

Swollen Bladderwort (Utricularia inflata): Note the swollen leaves that act as floats. Photo by Dimitri Tundra.

Golden Club (Orontium aquaticum): The clublike spadix is covered with tiny yellow flowers. Photo by Dimitri Tundra.

Bullhead Lily (Nuphar variegatum): Tough, leathery cup-like flowers. Leaves and flowers float. Blooms May - September. Location: Black Moshannon SP, PA.

Spatterdock (Nuphar advena): Similar to Bullhead Lily (above) but leaves and flowers are erect and above the water level. Location: Jug Bay Wetlands Preserve, MD.

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Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata): A true aquatic. Can grow 2-3 feet tall. Location: Billy Goat Tr, Great Falls NP, MD. Photo by Ken Clark.

Green Adder's-Mouth (Malaxis unifolia): Note the single mid-stalk leaf. Woods, bogs and swamps. Photo by Dimitri Tundra.

Horned Bladderwort (Utricularia cornuta): Note the horns on this aquatic. Photo by Dimitri Tundra.

Northern Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea): Carnivorous! Height 8 to 24 inches. Leaves up to 12 inches. Each plat has a large leathery crimson flower with 5 petals dangling over the basal leaves. Leaves veined deeply red, inflated and in the shape of a pitcher. The flower attracts insects which fall into the "pitchers" which are partially full with water. Inverted hairs on the leaf surface prevent their escape. The plant extracts the nutrients from the water as the insect decomposes. Photo by Marc Shaffer.

Spiked Purple Loostrife (Lythrum salicaria): An escaped ornamental capable of quickly covering vast wetland areas. Photo by Dimitri Tundra.

Purple Loosestrife (Lithrum virgatum):  Alien. Similar to L. salicaria except the flowers are mostly in the leaf axils.

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Wild Rice (Zizania aquatica): Grows in wetlands. Can reach a height of 9 feet. Simple white flowers on upper, erect branches are female. Flowers on drooping, lower branches are male. The grain is edible. Location: Jug Bay, Patuxent River, MD. Photo by Ken Clark.

Thread-leaved Sundew (Drosera filiformis): Small puple flowers and long sticky leaves make tis bog plant easy to identify. Photo by Dimitri Tundra.

Spatulate-leaves Sundew (Drosera intermedia): Leaves are longer than the Round-leaved Sundew that follows. Mostly found on the coastal plains of the region. Photo by Dimitri Tundra.

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Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia L.): This minute plant (less than 2 inches in height) is carnivourous. Insects get stuck to the apparent drops of dew and are digested in place. It does produce a simple white flower atop a central stalk. Location: All along the wet spots of Dobbin Grade, Dolly Sods North, MNF, WV.

Climbing Hempweed or Boneset (Mikania scandens): Round clusters of Boneset-like flowers. Grows in marshy area, covering other plants. Location: Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary, MD.

 

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