9 rare plants to find on our canals

And remember, while foraging is fun, please don’t pick anything that’s threatened.

1. Pondweed

Potamogeton

This endangered aquatic plant is found in freshwaters, like rivers, lakes and our canals. These plants improve water quality, provide shelter for aquatic species and act as a primary food source for waterfowl and fish.

The Montgomery Canal is home to the rarest species of pondweed, Potamogeton praelongus. Also known as the long-stalked pondweed, this plant has long, slender leaves and delicate flowers that add elegance to the water's surface. A similarly rare pondweed, Potamogeton friesii, or Fries' pondweed, is a fragile species with narrow, translucent leaves.

2. Floating water-plantain

Luronium natans

This rare plant is also found in the Montgomery Canal, although it generally prefers shallow waters and boggy areas. They have small, oval leaves floating on the surface, and longer, narrow leaves beneath the water. Between May and July, you’ll see small white flowers with yellow centres.

The Monty holds the largest and most extensive population of floating water-plantain in Britain.

3. Pheasant’s-eye

Adonis annua

Intensive agricultural practices have endangered this wine-red flowering plant, once considered a weed. Mostly found in the south of England, you might see it along our towpaths, roadside verges, scrub, waste ground and farmland. Pheasant’s-eyes have red petals, a black centre and feathery leaves.

4. Cornflower

Centaurea cyanus

The cornflower is a bright violet-blue wildflower that adds a dash of colour from June to August. Threatened by intensive agricultural practices, cornflowers are now mostly found in deliberately seeded gardens. The cornflower is a favourite of butterfly species and other pollinators.

5. Chamomile

Chamaemelum nobile

You might know the sweet smell of chamomile tea, but have you seen the flowering daisy-like plants? Chamomile flowers from June to August, but with grassland habitats under threat, it’s scarce in the wild.

6. Basil thyme

Clinopodium acinos

Popular with bees and insects, basil thyme produces purple flowers in dry grassland and rocky habitats. This plant was once used in place of thyme but is now too rare. It’s vulnerable to weed control but survives in less-intensively used areas where there is lime-rich soil.

7. Tubular water dropwort

Oenanthe fistulosa

Once common throughout England and Wales, numbers of tubular water dropwort have declined over the last century. These plants can grow surprisingly tall, reaching over a metre, in their preferred wetland habitats and can be seen hanging over the fringes of our canals and rivers. With small white flowers, it can look somewhat like cow parsley.

8. Wild asparagus

Asparagus prostrates

Although wild asparagus is edible, it’s an endangered plant so should not be harvested. It’s often found in more coastal areas as it likes soil with a high salt content but can be seen along some of our canals, particularly along woodland edges. It has feather-like leaves with yellow bell-shaped flowers.

9. Purple milk-vetch

Astragalus danicus

An important food source for butterflies and bees, purple milk-vetch is a member of the pea family. This plant grows low to the ground, producing purple flowers. They’re tough plants and can survive in nutrient-poor soils but are still considered endangered thanks to intensive agricultural practices.