Before geodetic and geological methods of finding water were invented, a source with life-giving moisture was sought using folk methods. The main search tools were vine sticks, a wire frame, or plants. Unlike dowsing, for searching with the help of plants, you do not need to walk with twigs in the area - the plants themselves act as water indicators. If you need to find water, and even primitive tools are not at hand, take a closer look at the surrounding vegetation. These plants and trees grow best where groundwater is close to the surface.
The willow is a proven indicator of water sources, which was used even in Russia. A woody plant from the genus of the willow family loves moisture, therefore it grows mainly in damp places.
A sure sign of close water in the temperate zone is a meadowsweet. Reeds and gray and black alder can also grow nearby. The predominance of these plants indicates water lying at a depth of up to 3 meters.
If alder, maple, weeping willow, birch bent to one side, this is another sign that water is nearby.
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Where groundwater is located at a depth of up to 2 meters, licorice grows naked. If the plant blooms magnificently, the water is fresh, if it is weak and a light bloom appears on the leaves, the water is salty.
Plane trees, as a rule, grow along the banks of rivers and lakes, along the bottoms of gorges. If they are found far from an open source, then we can say with confidence that an underground river flows under it. The location of the trees in this case will indicate the direction of the flow.
In places with high water levels, single oaks can grow. They choose the so-called intersection points of the water veins.
Ledum, lingonberry, blackberry, bird cherry, buckthorn and sedge can help find water. Wild currants grow strongly in an almost dry place only where groundwater is located close to the surface.
Black saxaul grows on dense soils, where the waters are located at a depth of 5-10 meters.
In places where reed grows, the depth of groundwater can reach up to 5 meters. To understand whether this water is fresh or brackish, you need to study other plants around. The water is not potable if the reed grows with the plants in saline habitats. If cereals and legumes grow in the neighborhood, as well as cattails, then the water under them is fresh.