The name of this attractive looking plant doesn’t sound too exciting or attracting – Water Smartweed (Persicaria amphibia), but it did look pretty impressive sitting alone out on a small pond beside Vaseux Lake in British Columbia last year. With broad floating ‘pond lily’ like leaves spread across the surface of the water, the plant would give shade and shelter to small fish beneath as well as a hunting spot for frogs and small insects on the surface. This is a native N. American plant that is classed as a member of the ‘knotweed’ family – in some areas of the continent it is known as water knotweed and it has been used as both food and medicine amongst various native North American communities.
