WATER PLANTAIN

any freshwater perennial herb of the genus Alisma, commonly found in lakes, ponds, and ditches. The three or four species are widely distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and Australia. Water-plantain leaves float or extend out of the water. They are sometimes ribbonlike or grasslike, are without lobes, and are often heart-shaped or tapered at the base. Flowers have three green sepals and three white or pinkish petals. A. triviale, regarded by some authorities as a New World variety of the European species A. plantago-aquatica, is common throughout North America. The plant grows to about 1 m (40 inches) in height and has ovate, slightly pointed leaves. The flowers are about 6 mm (0.25 inch) long and grow in whorls along a many-branched stalk. A. subcordatum has smaller flowers that are about 2 mm long.