Frogbit - Hydrocharis morsus-ranae

It is a small floating plant resembling a small water lily. It bears small, three-petalled white flowers. The floating leaves are kidney-shaped and grow in rosettes on the water surface, with the roots hanging down into the water column but not normally touching bottom.

Still or slow moving freshwater habitats such as ponds and canals.

Flowers in July and August.

Perennial. Frogbit is fast growing and spreads rapidly by stolons. It surviving the winter by dormant turions (a specialised overwintering bud) which rest on the bottom, rising again to the surface in spring.

Widespread, but occasional plant which is more frequent in the southern half of Britain. It can become quite prolific in areas where it becomes established.

Rare in Leicestershire and Rutland, but as introduced species (Grantham Canal). In the The Flora of Leicestershire (Primavesi & Evans) it was found in just 3 of the 617 tetrads.

It was on the 2011 VC55 Rare Plant Register (Jeeves, 2011) but is not on the current RPR (Hall & Woodward, 2022) because records are of introduced plants