| Summary: | In the initial phase of growth in an oligo-humotrophic lake, Cladium mariscus forms a dense and tall sawgrass bed invading the open water in the form of a floating mat. High densities of submerged evergreen perennial stems of C. mariscus, over two metres high and abundantly fruiting, ensure its persistence, and form a natural barrier to the invasion of other species. Dense mats of sawgrass are formed as a result of clonal and rhizome growth. Although diaspore production is abundant under natural conditions, only vegetative propagation of stems was observed. In different variants of the experiment only seeds wintering on stems of mother plants were capable of germinating. Hard seed coats had an important effect on the germination capacity of seeds.
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