Etymology: Alisma: Greek name for a water plant
Plants: erect or floating, perennial, semi-aquatic to aquatic, 4"-40" tall
Leaves: in basal rosette, with parallel veins, ovate to elliptical, long-stalked, smooth and firm, aquatic or terrestrial
Flowers: white to pink, 3-parted, 1/8" wide, petals only slightly longer than the sepals; inflorescence taller than the leaves and with 4 or more whorls of flowers per stalk; blooms May-Sept.
Fruits: dense ring of dry seeds; seed with 1 groove on the back
Habitat: shallow water; in muddy soil
Conservation Status: Native

Flora of North America: Flora of North America Floristic Rating: Coefficient of Conservatism = 3, Wetland Indicator = OBL USDA Plants Database: Federal Distribution and detailed information including photos USGS - Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Wetland Plants and Plant Communities of Minnesota and Wisconsin David G. Smith's "Delaware Wilflowers": Beautiful photographs; descriptions Southwest School of Botanical Medicine: Britton & Brown Illustrated Flora - 2nd Edition (1913) "An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada"