Water-soldier (Stratiotes aloides)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Aquatic plant |
| Red List Status: | Near Threatened (Not Relevant) [NT(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Stratiotes aloides |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | L. |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | in Stroh et al., 2014 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Native populations of this perennial aquatic herb are concentrated in lakes, ponds and ditches in Norfolk Broads and formerly in low-lying parts of eastern England although it declined there historically due to the loss and modifications of wetlands and eutrophication. Its overall trends are difficult to discern due to its widespread introduction as an ornamental plant (Stroh et al., 2023) and this led it to be assessed as NT in GB (Cheffings et al., 2005) and LC in England (Stroh et al., 2014). However, it probably qualifies for recovery due to the extent of historic losses outside of the core areas. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | In its core regions the species would benefit from the reduction of nutrients in waterbodies, but its recovery is not considered to depend on species-specific action this time. A review could be undertaken of its status within regions where it is assumed to be native in order to identify key sites, the ecological factors/management that allow it to persist and threats. This could include a review of its lake growth form and habitat requirements as well as the dynamics of populations in areas where both sexes occur. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | This species would benefit from general reductions of nutrient inputs to waterbodies in its core areas in East Anglia. |
Species Assessment
Not relevant as no Key Actions defined.
Key Actions
No Key Actions Defined
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.