20 February 2011

POND

This is a pond that one would see along the road leading to Labrador Nature Reserve. It was created by staff who wanted to try their hand at creating a natural aquatic habitat for dragonflies etc, complete with boulders.

Now in its place is an ecological pond with some interesting flora and fauna. Amongst the more common Cyperus, Typha, Nymphoides etc are the rarer Ludwigia and the yellow flower bladderwort, which is a carnivorous plant, Utricularia aurea (synonym: U. flexuosa; common name: Golden Bladderwort; Family: Lentibulariaceae). The leaf blades of the grass Axonopus compressus (common name: Broadleaf Carpet Grass; Family: Poaceae) are purplish in colour because of the difficulty in absorbing phosphorus under such perpetually wet conditions. This is a great outdoor classroom to learn all about freshwater habitats and ecology.

A few links on the plants are posted here for reference: