Explore the underwater gardens, floating leaves, shoreline grasses, and tiny producers that help lakes come alive.
Plants growing in and around lakes provide food, oxygen, shelter, nesting material, and protection for countless animals. Different species have adapted to life on muddy shorelines, above the water, floating at the surface, or completely submerged beneath it.
Plants growing along lake edges help connect aquatic ecosystems with the surrounding land.
Learn MoreCattails, reeds, and similar plants root underwater while their stems and leaves rise into the air.
Learn MoreWater lilies and other species use floating leaves to capture sunlight at the lake surface.
Learn MoreSome lake plants spend most or all of their lives growing beneath the water.
Learn MoreTiny photosynthetic organisms form an important base for many freshwater food webs.
Learn MoreNative vegetation is valuable, but excessive growth and invasive species can change a lake dramatically.
Learn MoreThe boundary where land meets a lake is one of its busiest biological zones. Grasses, sedges, shrubs, and trees hold soil in place with their roots, reducing erosion during storms and waves. Leaves and branches provide shade and habitat for insects, amphibians, birds, and young fish. Vegetated shorelines can also slow runoff, allowing some sediment and nutrients to settle before reaching open water.
Emergent plants are rooted in shallow water but extend their stems and leaves above the surface. Cattails, bulrushes, reeds, and pickerelweed are familiar examples in many freshwater wetlands and lake margins. Their stems provide hiding places for fish and attachment surfaces for insects, snails, and microorganisms. Birds may also build nests among dense stands where surrounding water gives them some protection from land predators.
Some aquatic plants place their leaves directly on the surface where sunlight is abundant. Water lilies are rooted in bottom sediment but send long flexible stems upward to broad floating leaves, while other species may float freely. These leaves provide shade below and resting places for insects and amphibians above. Their flowers also attract pollinators, showing how lake ecosystems connect organisms living in water with those living in the air.
Submerged aquatic plants grow almost entirely underwater and are specially adapted to absorb light through the water. Species such as pondweeds can form underwater meadows where small fish, insects, and other creatures find shelter. Like land plants, they use photosynthesis and can release oxygen into surrounding water during daylight. Their growth depends strongly on how deep sunlight can penetrate, so cloudy or muddy water may reduce the area where they can live.
Not everything that photosynthesizes in a lake is a true plant. Phytoplankton include microscopic algae and other photosynthetic organisms that drift through sunlit water and form a major source of energy for lake food webs. Zooplankton eat many of these organisms, and small fish may then eat the zooplankton. Although normal amounts are essential, enormous increases in certain algae or cyanobacteria can create harmful blooms when conditions favor rapid growth.
Healthy lakes usually contain a mixture of native aquatic plants rather than one species covering everything. Problems can occur when invasive plants arrive without the natural controls that limit them in their original range. Thick growth may crowd out native species, interfere with recreation, and change habitat for fish and wildlife. Protecting native shoreline and aquatic vegetation while preventing invasive species helps maintain a more diverse lake ecosystem.