This as been growing in my pond for the last three years, roots are shallow, I normally cut it down before plant flowers and seeds, we used to have fish but Great Blue Heron ate them all and two years later this plant appeared, it grows thick and covers the whole pond, returns the following year. Thank you for any assistance.
Good afternoon @Mannie Boutilier, to me it looks like Boehmeria 'False nettle' a marsh or wetland plant.
Hello @Acerholic, thank you for your suggestion, I did some research on the "False Nettle" and it isn't this, primarily it doesn't have white flowers that grow from the stem. Thinking back I do remember it have flowers but cannot remember the colour, but it did have burs heads in the Autumn. Still searching.....
If no additional replies / solid identification, do you mind leaving a plant or two to get to the flowering stage this year and follow-up with a photograph of that?
Good morning @Mannie Boutilier, sorry it's not the one, but as Daniel suggested a flowering photo would be ideal. Can I ask, is it growing in the water or in the surrounding wet soil area of the pond ?
@Daniel Mosquin , yes I will leave some plants to bloom. @Acerholic, it grows in the water, even though right now there is no water, it grows around our bulrushes that just started growing last year in the pond, the pond is shallow, clay based and only gets water when it rains or run off from adjacent brook.
@Daniel Mosquin Here are two pictures of the blossoms, does this give you any idea what this plant is. it's pretty invasive in my swampy pond.
Sunflower family, going by the general aspect of the heads only perhaps a Bidens. Keeping in mind that there are many genera in the family, with tens of thousands of species.
Looks very much like Bidens cernua, common name nodding beggarticks, or nodding bur-marigold. But agreed, there are tens of thousands of species to choose from.
@Acerholic and @Ron B, unfortunately I searched both your suggestions and they are not them, they don't have any sort of white peals, they remain yellow and mature into burs. But thank you.
Habitat and general look is good for Bidens. There are only 8 species in Nova Scotia: Bidens beckii , Bidens cernua , Bidens connata , Bidens discoidea , Bidens frondosa , Bidens hyperborea , Bidens tripartita , and Bidens vulgata. Given the general lack of ray flowers and only the cluster of disc (or discoid) flowers, my first inclination was to have a look at Bidens discoidea, and that seems to be a match (though I admit to not looking at the others).
@Daniel Mosquin, Thank you, That would be it. I'm not a big fan of it but the bumble bees seem to. Still not sure how it arrived but, that mystery I will have to figure out on my own as there is no other swampy, wetland area close by that has it.
