This pond plant dies right back in autumn, then fresh new growth appears again in spring.

• Position: full sun or partial shade
• Soil: reliably moist or boggy soil, or aquatic compost
• Rate of growth: average to fast-growing
• Flowering period: April
• Hardiness: fully hardy
  
  Less vigorous than the species, 'Chameleon' makes excellent ground cover at the margins of a pond - or in reliably moist (and boggy) soils in the border. Spreading to form a generous swathe, its ovate to heart-shaped leaves are variously patterned in shades of green, pale yellow and red. These add a bright splash of colour, and if bruised will emit an orange-like aroma. In spring, the flowerheads appear, and these are composed of a small, densely packed spike of tiny yellowish green flowers, which is encased at its base with a ruff of petal-like bracts that turn from green to white as they age.
  
  
• Garden care: Tolerant of most reliably moist soils, and less vigorous than the species, you can limit the spread of this plant by potting it into a pond basket. Divide over-large clumps in spring.