The Waterwort Family

This family includes two genera, only one of which is present in North America. Elatine is found in shallow areas of lakes and is remarkably small. It can often be confused for seedlings of other plants. The specimen we have is an introduced species* and gets to about twice the size of the native Elatine minima.  *(This is a complex situation, as it seems that there is a level of confusion surrounding the species and a possible American subspecies)