Description
Botanical Information: Water Figwort
Water figwort is a hardy perennial with square stems that can reach up to a metre in height, topped with spikes of flowers during summer and autumn. The tubular flowers can range from yellow to green and feature a reddish-brown upper lip. Each flower produces numerous seeds held in pear-shaped capsules until they mature, where the capsule breaks open and the seeds are dispersed as the plant is shaken by the wind or passing animals.
Habitat
Typically found along pond margins and riverbanks water figwort can also be seen in damp meadows and wet woodlands. It is a hardy plant which can survive in expose or sheltered conditions and in most soil types, as long as it is reasonably damp.
Benefits to Wildlife
The smell emitted by the flowers is to attract wasps, who are the main pollinators of the plant. It is also visited by various species of weevils and the larvae of the figwort sawfly. Emergent wetland plants, like water figwort, provide valuable resting and hiding places for aquatic insects, including caddis flies.
Conservation Status in the UK
The IUCN Red List has this waterplant as Least Concern. It can be found throughout the UK, but is scarcer in Scotland.
Ease of Growing
Plant your water figwort in a shaded or partially shaded spot with moist soil. Make sure to keep the soil damp, especially during dry spells.
More Information
Complementing Species
Hemp Agrimony | Eupatorium cannabinum
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