Picture Profile 2006: Callitriche palustris (Vernal water-starwort)
Artist Code 2006. Callitriche palustris (Vernal water-starwort). Water colour on Aquarelle Arches 100% cotton paper 140lb. 12″ x 9″. Completed 15th April 2020 (50 Limited Edition prints)
This little painting is a colour figure (Fig. 22) produced for book 4 in the River Friend Series I am co-authoring and illustrating with Sylvia M. Haslam entitled “INTERPRET: What do Plants tell us?”. There are several different species of Callitriche, and this is just one. But when they are flowing in the water (see below), they all look very similar and are hard to distinguish without “grappling” them out and performing scientific observations!
I visited Haddenham Levels to obtain the live material for this painting and my own resource photographs taken on a visit to the River Lark near Bury St Edmunds.
All aquatic plant species which live along and in the rivers and streams are extremely good indicators of the health and wealth of a waterway and the River Friend Series of little books is intended to help anyone interested in rivers to understand how important are the plants and how, for instance, they are affected by pollution and by the water source drying up. There will be around 17 titles published in time. Please visit the River Friend Website for a list of the latest published titles.
