It looks like a miniature pine forest

Hippuris vulgaris or Marestail is a common swamp and pond plant. This plant is counted among the oxygen plants because the underwater leaves also produce a lot of oxygen and it resembles Elodea (waterweeds) The piece that is a few decimeters above the water looks like a small pine tree. Marestail can form large masses and propagate by means of rhizomes. It prefers to grow on clay soil and in particular in brackish water. A Marestail field looks like a miniature pine forest.

The largest amount of leaf material is located under the water. Marestail forms leaves early in the year, already from March on. It has especially small flowers, which are in the armpits of the leaves. The flowers do not have crown petals, only a stigma and later only stamens. In this way self-pollination is avoided. Blooming happens at the end of spring, until the middle of the summer.

The plant is found in the entire Northern hemisphere, the Northern area of ​​North America, Asia and Europe including Iceland, in large quantities. It is widely sold as a pond plant, probably because it remains also green in winter. It tends to proliferate. There are many animals that eat the plant, for example ducks.

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