Endangered species

Most of the existing populations of the threatened species of macrophytes in the Baltic Sea can be found in the SEAmBOTH area. There are a lot of populations from before 1995 in the southern Finland, Sweden, and south of the Baltic Sea which have now vanished. Whether this is due to lack of recent knowledge … Continue reading Endangered species

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Stoneworts of the northern Bothnian Bay

Stoneworts, or Charales in scientific terms, is an order of green algae that is commonly found in the northern Bothnian Bay. They may look like ordinary vascular plants with stems and branches but are in fact algae. They can be found in freshwater, such as lakes, ponds, and rivers, as well as in brackish waters … Continue reading Stoneworts of the northern Bothnian Bay

Water soldier, Stratiotes aloides

Water soldier, or water pineapple, is a weird relict species of aquatic plant in Finland and in Sweden. The English name is easy to understand from the appearance of the species. It looks like a pineapple, and its leaves are sharply serrated like soldiers’ swords. Photo by Manuel Deinhardt, Metsähallitus. It was left here in … Continue reading Water soldier, Stratiotes aloides

Fresh water species in the Bothnian Bay

Some species of vascular plants and other macrophytes (the plants, water mosses and algae that we can see) are adapted to marine water. This means, that the lower salinity level will limit their distribution. They also have a maximum salinity level where the environmental stress from the salty water will get too high and they … Continue reading Fresh water species in the Bothnian Bay

Pygmy waterweed, Crassula aquatica

Pygmy waterweed is true to its name: it’s tiny. It is a teeny weeny annual succulent semiaquatic or aquatic plant that only grows to about 1-5 cm tall. You can find this small and inconspicuous vascular plant from the water’s edge at ponds, lakes, rivers and also brackish water seas like the Bothnian Bay. Its … Continue reading Pygmy waterweed, Crassula aquatica