On a smoky day I paddled Paul Lake and moved into some of the shallower bays to see what was growing.    There was lots of common crowfoot and smartweed, but in one area I also spotted some arumleaf arrowhead (Sagittaria cuneata).   It is an aquatic plant that grows from a tuber and is sometimes called wapato, swamp potato, or duck potato.

Many of the tops had been eaten by a moose or a muskrat, but a few were flowering still, standing above the waterline.

Waterlogged logs can also “nurse” plants.    In this case, there was willowherb (epilobium, mosses, and foxtail barley.

Although I have spotted most of the flowering aquatics, I have yet to spot marsh skullcap, but I know two lakes where it can be found, so hopefully I will find it this summer.