Aquatic plants, also referred to as hydrophytes, [1] are vascular plants and non-vascular plants [2] that have adapted to live in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). Hydrophytes represent a group of plants, which are part of the aquatic ecosystem, where most of the plants live in water or the soil saturated with water. The higher plants of hydrophytes have been evolved from the mesophytes. · In general terms, hydrophytes (hydrophytic plants) are plants that are adapted to survive in oxygen-challenged aquatic environments. Hydrophytic plants have several adaptations that allow them to survive in water. For example, water lilies and lotus are anchored in the soil by shallow roots. A plant that is adapted to living either in waterlogged soil or partly or wholly submerged in water. Many hydrophytes absorb water and gases over the whole surface and have no stomata like the spiked water milfoil (Myriophyllum spicata), which is completely submerged in water. · Explore the different characteristics of hydrophytes, plants adapted to aquatic habitats, and their unique physiological features. These water-dwelling plants are found in aquatic ecosystems, including wetlands. Some hydrophytes may be submerged in water, like hydrilla, while others float on the surface, like duckweed. · Hydrophytes are plants that are especially suited for and have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as macrophytes to differentiate them from algae and other microscopic plants. Hydrophytes are found in one of three ways: emergent, submerged or floating.
