ABSTRACT
Wetland plants grow in a variety of climates, from the tropics to polar regions — wherever the water table is high enough, or the standing water is shallow enough, to support them. Each species is adapted to a range of water depths and many do not survive outside of that range for extended periods. For example, Hydrilla verticillata (hydrilla) thrives when fully submerged; Typha angustifolia (narrow-leaved cattail) can grow in water over 1 m in depth, but its leaves are emergent; and others, like Larix laricina, the tamarack tree of northern peatlands, are fully emergent and normally do not grow where water covers the soil surface. All rooted wetland plants are adapted to at least periodically saturated substrates where soil oxygen levels are low to non-existent.
