Climbing plants
Floating salvinia
Salvinia natans
Family: Salviniaceae. It inhabits well-warmed bodies of water of the Chernozem (Black Earth) zone.
Leaves on the horizontal stem of Salvinia are arranged in whorls of three. Two rounded leaves from each whorl float on the water surface; the third, submerged, is divided into several narrow "threads". The submerged leaves are not green but brownish, covered with fine hairs. Externally they look like roots.
This fern has no true roots. The submerged leaves "work" for them: they absorb nutrients from the water. The upper, floating leaves perform photosynthesis. They are green, 5-15 mm long, dotted with small tubercles on the upper side, and with brown hairs on the underside. Ferns, including Salvinia, are spore-bearing plants. They do not have flowers, and therefore no fruits.
