Elatine hexandra, the six-stamened waterwort, is flowering plant of the family Elatinaceae, which grows in shallow water around lakes and pools in Europe from Ireland to Romania.

Six-stamened waterwort is a small annual to short-lived perennial herb with creeping stems up to about 8 cm long, which root at the nodes.

[1][2] In Britain and Northern Europe it is most likely to be confused with Elatine hydropiper, but that species has no (or very short) pedicels and strongly curved (horseshoe-shaped) fruit.

[3] [4] The scientific name Elatine hexandra was published by de Candolle and Lamarck in their work Flore Française (3rd edition, vol.

[6] The scientific name is derived from the Ancient Greek word for a silver fir, Ἐλάτη (Elátē), which also means an oar, as ship parts were usually made of this light, strong wood.

[13] In all the British counties where it is found, it is considered to be an axiophyte, or plant of conservation importance, owing to its affinity for low-nutrient water bodies.

He calculated that a single plant could produce as many as 27,000 seeds if it was growing on exposed mud, but much fewer if self-pollinating under water, which shows how it is adapted to react quickly to favourable conditions in an occasional dry summer.