ABSTRACT
Wetland plants are found throughout the world, in swamps and marshes, in peatlands, billabongs, and sloughs, at the margins of lakes, streams, and rivers, in bays and estuaries, and along protected oceanic shorelines. In short, they are found wherever there are wetlands and they are often the most conspicuous component of the ecosystem. Emergent taxa such as Carex (sedge), Juncus (rush), Typha (cattail), and Polygonum (smartweed) dominate the freshwater marshes of North America; Phragmites australis (common reed) provides the name for the reedswamps of Europe; Spartina species (cordgrass) dominate many temperate coastal salt marshes; and Taxodium distichum (bald cypress) is found in the deepwater swamps of the southeastern U.S. An interest in wetland plants, their ecology and distribution, often begins with an appreciation of their appearance. From a biological standpoint, wetland plants have multiple roles in the functioning of wetlands. They, like all photosynthetic organisms, are crucial in fixing the energy that powers all other components of the system. They supply oxygen to other biota and contribute to the physical habitat. Although wetland plants are defined by their ability to inhabit wet places, they represent a diverse assemblage of species with different adaptations, ecological tolerances, and life history strategies that enable their survival in saturated or flooded soils. These differences have implications for their conservation, management, and restoration.
