First, when one sees a liverwort,
hornwort, or moss in the field or elsewhere, the observed specimen, with only a very few exceptions, represents the gametophyte (1n) phase of the organism's heteromorphic alternation of phases (or generations).
Submerged oxygenators: Canadian Pondweed, Eelgrass, Fanwort,
Hornwort, Water Moss, and Water Violet.
Be sure to include submergent plants such as common waterweed (Elodea) and
hornwort (Ceratophyllum) for their high oxygen output.
Examples of oxygenating plants include water buttercup, curly pond weed, water milfoil, and
hornwort. Oxygenating plants will be placed at various depths depending on the species, with a minimum water depth of approximately 1 foot to a maximum of around 3 feet.
Floating oxygenators, sometimes referred to as "nature's filter," are underwater plants that contribute to clear water and provide cover and protection for adult and baby fish; among them are duckweed,
hornwort and parrots feather.
Submerged oxygenating plants like
hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum), feed through their leaves and are an excellent natural algae control.
During the study period, even very shallow open-water areas of Moccasin Pond supported dense stands of submergent plants, mainly bladderwort (Utricularia spp.) (plant names from Correll and Correll, 1975), common water-nymph or bushy pondweed (Najas guadalupensis), common
hornwort or coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum), and several species of Potamogeton.
Always use native plants in ponds - rigid
hornwort and whorled water-milfoil are recommended.
But after a cold front turned the shallow bass tentative on my recent trip--they'd pick up then drop big live shiners, often holding them crosswise by the belly, away from the hook--we shifted to deeper flats offshore where bass were scattered among clumps of hydrilla and
hornwort in 7 to 8 feet of water.
I would recommend
Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum), Willow moss (Fontinalis antipyretica) and Water buttercup (Ranunculus aquatilis), as all are easy to keep in check.