Mudworts
What are they?
Unusual members of the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae), mudworts are tiny, easily-overlooked plants that are generally considered rare and elusive. They spread by means of runners, producing rosettes of leaves and tiny, whitish tinged purple flowers. Mudwort seeds seem able to remain dormant for many years, with plants periodically appearing when conditions are right, only for them to disappear again when crowded out.
Where are they found?
Although extremely rare in our region, it is worth keeping an eye out for this tiny plant on more or less any area that is seasonally flooded in the winter and has areas of bare mud in the summer, especially in coastal grasslands, village ponds and cattle watering areas.
Identification
The miniature plants with spoon-shaped leaves and tiny, five-petalled, white or lilac-tinged flowers are distinctive.
Common Mudwort Limosella aquatica
Native. Rare and declining nationally and extremely rare in the East Anglian region. Considered extinct with the last record in Norfolk in 1914, but two recent records in North Norfolk show that, given the right habitat of seasonally wet, bare mud, species such as this can turn up again and should be looked for. Flowers June to September. Whole plant very tiny with minuscule flowers, 2.5-3mm across.
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