Very simply defined, plants are green organisms that use energy from light to transform carbon dioxide and water into sugars.
Plants are the 'producers' on which all other life depends.
Here is a brief glimpse at some of the plants commonly found in and around lakes and ponds in British Columbia. The group of plants best adapted to growth in water is algae. Some are made of filaments and cling to rocks and other hard surfaces under the water, but most kinds of algae live suspended in water and are not visible to the naked eye. We notice these microscopic species when they get enough nutrients to take over an entire lake. This phenomenon is called algal bloom.