It's not poppy in the water.

Water opium poppy is also a kind of aquatic plant in full bloom recently.

[water opium poppy Hydrocleys nymphoides] Butomaceae > > water poppy

Water opium poppy, alias Shuijinying, like the water shield grass mentioned a few days ago, it is not of domestic origin, but from Central and South America.

Unlike the water shield grass, I am so familiar with the water shield grass that I regard it as a native plant. Water poppies are also common, but I don't think I've ever seen them when I was a kid.

To me, knowing plants is like a grip in an intricate network of memories. Every time I know a plant, a long memory line is pulled and a few fragments are shaken off from the web of memory. When I met the water shield grass last year, I thought of a garden internship in Suzhou. If I look back, I seem to have seen him when I went to Taihu Lake when I was very young. The memory line of water poppy is very short, no more than 2010 at the earliest.

But in recent years, water opium poppy has spread all over the south and has become a very common plant in all kinds of parks and gardens.

Water opium poppy belongs to the family Linaceae (classified into the family Alismatidae in the plant classification system adopted by PPBC). It is named "water poppy" water poppy because it blossoms like a plant of the family Papaveraceae.

The flowering period of water opium poppy is long, it can blossom in spring, and the flowers are at its peak in summer and autumn, with green leaves and bright flowers.

In my opinion, the water poppy is most similar to the common flower bed flower of the opium poppy family. It also has yellowish, thin petals and fireworks-like stamens, and the flowers are about the same size, about 3-5 cm in diameter.

The top picture shows the flower rhombus, and the bottom picture shows the water poppy.

However, if you look intently, it is not difficult to find the characteristics of water poppy. His flower has only three petals, the base of the petals is bright yellow, and the stamens are purple-brown.

But like many flowers, the petal number of water opium poppy changes occasionally. I have photographed four-petaled water poppy, which looks more like a poppy plant.

A four-petaled water poppy

In addition, the water poppy also blooms and closes at twilight.

It was taken at the end of December.

Water opium poppy is a perennial aquatic floating-leaf plant, which is often planted in the shallow waters of the waterfront of the park. On this side of Hangzhou, water poppy is almost evergreen and can even blossom in winter, but the leaves in winter are not as dense as in summer.

The leaves of the water poppy are heart-shaped, and the leaves of the water poppy are really luxuriant in summer. In shallow water, the stem of the water poppy is longer, and the overlapping leaves are several centimeters above the water surface, which looks like grass on land.

While in the depths of the water, water poppy leaves float with the surface. On the back of the floating blade, the leaf midrib can be clearly seen and become an air bag that provides buoyancy.

The air bag on the back of the leaf.

Author: ask the Heaven (Plant Culture)

Author: Jiang SB.

Picture: Jiang (unless indicated)

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