Water Plants

Salvinia inspires engineers
In another example of plant design inspiring industrial advance, the aquatic weed Salvinia has helped engineers develop a new plastic coating. The leaf is covered with specialised hairs which help the leaf cling to the water's surface (aiding stability) while at the same time trapping air to assist buoyancy. Mimicking this arrangement has led to a coating that could be developed for use on watercraft with similar effect. Learn more at the Ohio State University website: Plant with "eggbeater" texture inspires waterproof coating (November 2011)

Help for Bli Bli pond
Refurbishments to improve water flow and deter nesting ibis and egrets will help address stagnation and algal blooms problems in Bli Bli pond. Sedimentation, bird waste and inadequate flushing have contributed to the poor health of the pond, which was created 50 years ago. Paperbark trees have also suffered, due to the water level being consistently too high.Council to nurse Bli Bli pond back to health. (July 2010)

Tiny waterlilly rescued
The work of botanic gardens has saved a rare waterlily, thought to be the world's smallest, from probable extinction. After its discovery in Rwanda in 1985, specimens were kept alive in botanic gardens in Germany. All attempts to reproduce the plants from seed and grow to maturity like other waterlillies were unsuccessful until a horticulturist at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew discovered the key. By more closely matching the damp edges of the freshwater hot spring from which they came, the plants have flowered and set seed in cultivation at last. Nymphaea thermarum has only been found in one location, and since its discovery all known wild plants have been lost due over-use of the water source. More at the Kew website: Smallest waterlily in the world brought back from the brink of extinction at Kew Gardens (May 2010)

Aquatic plant family's secret revealed
An international team of scientists have discovered that the aquatic plant family Hydatellaceae, many of which occur in Australia, are more closely related to waterlillies than they are to grasses. While the leaves are grass-like and the flower parts also much reduced, new research into pollen, seeds and germination have indicated that the evolutionary history of this family may be quite different than previously believed. Read more here: New-found relatives among the waterlillies