Floating Crystalwort at Oxwich Marsh

Beneficial effects from the fen restoration and pond clearance work carried out at Oxwich Marsh by CCW in the last couple of years have included the expansion of the macrophyte community. Although the waters are rather nutrient-rich, species that have clearly prospered in deeper water include Bladderwort (Utricularia australis), which has flowered extensively over the North Pond and in several of the ditches. In winter Floating Crystalwort (Riccia fluitans) is particularly prominent in many of the open water areas, including the cleared fen area shown below, where it occasionally forms dense mats.


Mass of Floating Crystalwort with Common Duckweed (Lemna minor) and one small (reddish) plant of the highly invasive Water Fern (Azolla filiculoides).


Bladderwort (photographed earlier in the season).