Occurring Plant Species

The Biosphere Reserve has species-rich plant populations. Many areas are important habitats for plant species that have become rare elsewhere and are also endangered.

Aquatic Plants

Seerosen mit prächtigen weißen Blüten und einem Wasserfrosch darauf. — The magnificent blossoms of the water lilies can be admired from June to August.

Remarkable for the Schaalsee are the great distribution depths of aquatic plants down to a depth of seven metres. Representatives are e.g., the partly large-area stoneworts (Chara spec.), rough hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum), spiky water milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum), mirror pondweed (Potamogeton lucens), blunt-leaved pondweed (Potamogeton obtusifolius), claspingleaf pondweed (Potamogeton perfoliatus), white water-lily (Nymphea alba), yellow pond rose (Nuphar lutea), spreading water-crowfoot (Ranunculus circinatus).

Die Wasserfeder in der Blütezeit Mai bis Juli. — The water-violet in bloom from May to July.

The botanical diversity of the numerous small water bodies should be emphasised, in which, for example, water violet (Hottonia palustris), flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus), simplestem bur-reed (Sparganium erectum), arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia) and common water-plantains (Alisma plantago aquatica) grow.

Fen Plants

Binsenschneide im Kalkflachmoor bei Zarrentin. — The swamp sawgrass is a rare and highly endangered plant species, which has its largest occurrence in M-V in the lime fen near Zarrentin.

In the numerous fen areas, besides various species of peat moss (Sphagnum spec.), crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), bog bilberry (Vaccinum uliginosum), cross-leaved heath (Erica tetralix), rbog-rosemary (Andromeda polifolia), as well as hare's-tail cottongrass and common cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum and Eriophorum angustifolium) can be found. Elsewhere, there are occurrences of water-arum (Calla palustris), marsh pennywort (Hydrocotyle vulgaris), marsh cinquefoil (Potentilla aloides), milk-parsley (Peucedanum palustre), water soldiers (Stratiotes aloides), bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata), royal fern (Osmunda regalis), swamp sawgrass (Cladium mariscus), marsh grass of Parnassus (Parnassia palustris), greater bladderwort (Utricularia vulgaris) and marsh arrowgrass (Triglochin palustris) are noteworthy.

Plants of the Wetland Meadows

Großer, rosa blühender, Blutweiderich am Ufer. — Common loosestrife usually grows in reed beds and swamps, on the shores of lakes and ponds, rivers, streams and canals, and in ditches.

On wet grassland sites, various species grow, such as the ragged robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi), loosestrifes (Lysimachia vulgaris), purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis), marsh lousewort (Pedicularis palustris), marsh helleborine (Epipactis palustris), early marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza incarnata), common spotted orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) and, as a great rarity, the fen orchid (Liparis loeselii).

Plants of Dry Meadows

Scharfer Mauerpfeffer (Sedum acre) — Goldmoss stonecrop (Sedum acre).

Areas of dry grassland are characterised by the occurrence of, among other things matgrass (Nardus stricta), carline thistle (Carlina vulgaris), brown knapweed (Centaurea jacea), spiny restharrow (Ononis spinosa), centaury (Centaurium minus) and goldmoss stonecrop (Sedum acre). Corresponding sites can be found above all on the former border line (Kolonnenweg). The Biosphere Reserve has species-rich plant communities. Many areas represent important habitats for plant species that have become rare elsewhere and are also endangered.