Winter buds (also called turions) on aquatic plants are such ingenious adaptations, and yet their obvious simplicity always amazes me. Towards the end of the growing season, the plants begin storing all their energy into a mass of tightly sealed, ready-to-sprout leaf structures, which remain closed and ready, until spring warmth arrives. These protected cells contain the chlorophyll needed for them to begin photosynthesizing when the ice melts, giving them a head start in the short growing season.
Common bladderwort (Utricularia vulgaris) produces large green, tightly packed balls at its growing tip, which persist through the winter. They certainly stand out when you look down into the water column from a kayak.
Up close, they are an exquisite emerald green of interesting textures.
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