Submerged Aquatics
| The Plant Profiles that follow introduce some of the more popular submerged aquatics. It is these plants that are the powerhouse of the pond’s ecosystem, and which also provide food and cover for fish and other pond life. They also produce oxygen during the daytime and mop up excessive nutrients in the water that might otherwise be utilised by single-celled, water-discolouring algae to create a pea-soup effect. They effectively starve the algae out of existence.
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 Submerged aquatics are the powerhouse of the ecosystem.
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 The most efficient species are the least visually appealing.
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The majority are not particularly decorative, the most efficient from the pond ecosystem point of view being the dullest. However, as they linger in the watery depths they do not have too much direct impact upon the aesthetics of the water garden, except through their practical contribution to water clarity. There are a few that produce attractive translucent foliage, but the majority are quite mundane.
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Even if they are not particularly inspiring, with very few exceptions, submerged aquatic plants flower, although in most cases the blossoms are rarely observed by the water gardener. They are mostly minute and only noticeable to the very observant, although several species do produce interesting emergent flower spikes, that at close quarters are intricate and quite fascinating. However, there are a few species, like the Water Crowfoot, Ranunculus aquatilis, which do bear showy blossoms. In addition to their submerged growth, these usually produce some seasonal floating foliage as well.
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 Several species produce emergent flower spikes.
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 The Water Crowfoot has showy blossoms.
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This is completely different from that which is submerged, and generally appears as if it could have been produced by a totally different plant. It is similar with some of the Starworts or Callitriche species. These often produce both submerged and floating leaves of differing shapes and forms, although their flowers are insignificant.
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Apart from their practical value and limited aesthetic appeal, many submerged aquatics are not only excellent contributors to water quality, but also good indicators of the same. Callitriche in particular will only grow successfully where the water chemistry is favourable to most pond life, and the tropical Echinodorus rarely prospers when water quality is deteriorating. Where these plants grow contentedly the water gardener has few worries.
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 Callitriche only grows where there is consistently good water quality.
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