Introduced to the UK in the 1980s by the aquatic nursery trade, this fleshy-stemmed plant uses its roots to interweave a floating mat of lush foliage
Floating pennywort was first brought to Britain in the 1980s and is still sold as a plant for aquariums and garden ponds.
It now grows in the shallow margins of slow-flowing water bodies (particularly ditches, slow flowing dykes and lakes), and forms dense interwoven mats of vegetation, which can often be mistaken for solid ground. These mats quickly cover the water surface, ruining the habitat for other wildlife.