Submersed Emergent and Floating Plants

Aquatic plants types: Submersed, Emergent, and Floating Plants.


Some sources say that there are 4 types of aquatic plants. Submersed, emergent, immersed, and floating. Here again, the categories don’t entirely work.

For our purposes, we will list 3 types:

  • Submersed plants are those rooted plants which exist under the water in normal conditions.
  • Emergent plants are those that grow in the soil beneath the water, and whose tops protrude from the water. Sometimes, plants that are widely considered to be submersed, have tops that rise out of the water as well.
  • Floating plants are the plants that normally float without connection to the bottom.

I would narrow the categories a bit, and use the standard normally used for terrestrial vegetation. We can say that there are two types of plants, broadleaves, and grassy, which can help us know what treatments will be most effective, but there are points where this analogy breaks down.

Next: Aquatic weed control types.
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