Waterwheel Plant Colouring

The waterwheel plant is an unusual carnivorous plant that lives completely underwater. Its scientific name is Aldrovanda vesiculosa. It has a very scattered native range across parts of Europe, Africa and Asia and as far as Australia. Unlike most familiar plants, it floats freely and has no lasting roots anchoring it to the mud. Slender stems carry rings, or whorls, of narrow leaves. Seen from the end, each whorl resembles the spokes of a tiny waterwheel, which explains the plant’s common name. It prefers clean, sunny, shallow freshwater such as quiet ponds, lake edges and slow backwaters. These waters can be poor in nutrients even though they contain many microscopic animals. At the tip of each leaf is a tiny two-lobed snap trap related to the larger trap of a Venus flytrap. Sensitive hairs detect movement from water fleas, mosquito larvae and other minute swimmers. When suitable prey brushes the hairs, the lobes close extremely quickly and hold it inside. Digestive fluids release useful nutrients, while the green plant continues to make sugars from sunlight. The traps are only a few millimetres wide, so the magnified circle in this picture helps young scientists imagine the action. Waterwheel plants can form winter resting buds called turions in cold regions, then grow again when warm weather returns. The species has disappeared from many former locations because wetlands were drained, polluted or changed, so wild plants should be admired without collecting them. Colour the long floating stem in fresh green and use a slightly lighter green for the spoke-like leaves. The little traps may be green with hints of yellow or red. Choose pale blue or aqua for the water, leaving a few white areas around the bubbles to make them sparkle. The mosquito larva can be tan, brown or soft grey, and the lily pads can be green with pink or white flowers if you wish. Use gentle horizontal strokes for calm pond water and small curved strokes around each whorl. In the magnified circle, colour the trap lobes clearly so the closing movement remains easy to understand. Keep the background light so the delicate waterwheel shape stays the star of the page.

◫ A4 size✎ Bold outlines♡ Ages 3–8

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Grown-up note: Please supervise printing and choose age-appropriate art materials.