Rigid Hornwort - Ceratophyllum demersum

Stem flexuous with rigid leaves in whorls of 3 to 8. Leaves dark green 1-2 forked divided into slender toothed segments. Flowers solitary with 8 or more linear petals, female flowers green, male flowers whitish. Fruit a small nut 4-5 mm with basal spines, otherwise smooth.

Ceratophyllum submersum

Leaves forked 1 - 2 times

The County Recorder has asked for a specimen of this plant to be retained for verification

Freshwater habitats, ponds, slow moving rivers and canals rooting in the muddy bottom.

Flowers July to September.

Perennial.

Fairly widespread in lowland areas of Britain.

Occasional and local in Leicestershire and Rutland, but may be abundant where it occurs. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 25 of the 617 tetrads.

In the current checklist (Jeeves 2011) it is listed as native; now rarely recorded, but possibly overlooked