February

Spring has arrived at the Park - every now and then you'll find patches of green emerging from the yellow blanket of vegetation. Round-leaved Rotala, with its little pink flowers, is among the first to welcome the arrival of Spring.

Round-leaved Rotala is a small herbaceous plant that is usually 10-20cm tall. Plants of this size are easily missed out it if you're not paying attention. It usually grows in colonies along water margin, creeping or growing straight up. You can find it easily along the ponds around Wetland Discovery Centre. It has round leaves, as the name suggests, that grow in layers along opposite sides of the stem. These round button-like leaves and the layering form are distinct features to identify this plant, even when it's not flowering.

When it flowers in Spring, you'll find it hard not to be attracted by the small pink flowers that grow in clusters at the top of the stem ('the inflorescence consists of a terminal spike'). If you look close enough, you may see four petals, four stamens and one central pistil. Searching for leaves that grow underwater ('submerged leaves'), you'll see narrow and long leaves that do not resemble the round leaves that grow above water ('emergent leaves'). Many aquatic plants have submerged and emergent leaves of very different forms.

Round-leaved Rotala has a short flowering period, between February and April. If you like to catch a glimpse of it in full bloom, it's time to pay us a visit!