Amphibious bistort (Persicaria amphibia) is a plant (not a frog or a newt) that has an aquatic form and a terrestrial form (which is where the first part of the name comes from). It is a member of the Polygonaceae family which includes docks, sorrel, the pernicious weed Japanese Knotweed and the crop-plant Buckwheat, but unlike many members of the family it has quite pretty flowers. It is widespread, although not particularly common, in most of Great Britain and Ireland. The aquatic form can be found near the edges of ponds and lakes, or in muddy ground next to water.
I have included below pictures from two very different sorts of waterbodies. The first two (taken a few weeks ago) are from one of the large pools at the RSPB's Saltholme reserve, while the plants in the last two photos (taken today) were growing amongst litter and a discarded shopping trolley in a little pond at a small urban nature reserve in Middlesbrough.
The name bistort apparently comes from the Latin 'bis' meaning 'twice' and 'torta' meaning 'twisted' and is a reference to the twistiness of the plant's roots.
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