Information on the Waterwheel Plant

Description

• The rootless waterwheel plant is 7 to 10 inches long and has 30 to 35 whorls of foliage, each with six to eight leaves. The petioles or foliage stems have specialized air chambers that keep the plant afloat. Waterwheel produces tiny, white or pink five-petaled flowers all through the summer that are visible above the water surface. The fruit capsules containing the seeds remain under water. The plant propagates from seed or branches of the parent plant that separate to form new plants.

Carnivorous Plants

• The trap where the insects are caught consists of a pair of semi-circular leaf blades that snap shut in less than a second when small water insects or prey touch the foliage. This trap closing, very similar in operation to the Venus fly trap, is triggered by highly sensitive, long hairs that grow around each leaf. Once trapped, the entire insect is digested gradually by the plant. The hair around the main trap area secretes mucilage that seals it tightly. The spine or stem that connects the trap to the main plant body contains balloonlike glands that aid in digestion.

Factors Affecting Threatened Species

• A number of factors have led to the extinction of the waterwheel plants in many regions of the world. The primary cause is the reduction of wetland habitat for development and the high levels of pollution in freshwater lagoons. The use of aquatic herbicides and the growing competition from invasive, aggressive weeds like salvinia is also damaging rare plants like waterwheel. The growing interest in carnivorous plants among gardeners is also leading to their removal from natural habitats.

Steps for Conservation

• Recommended conservation steps include providing proper guidance to land managers regarding the use of herbicides in natural waterwheel habitats; protection of freshwater lagoons from pollution, clearing, draining and development; and creating stock watering points away from freshwater lagoons.