The oligotrophic pool is important for its palynological record (or history) of the vegetation since the last ice-age. It is also part of a network of sites in south-west England for the reconstruction of vegetation history. In the fine granitic gravel on the bottom of the pool grows spring quillwort ("Isoetes echinospora"). At the time of designation in 1951 it was the only known site in Cornwall, but since 1988 has been found in three nearby pools. Growing on the margins of the pool is six-stamened waterwort ("Elatine hexandra"), a nationally scarce plant in the UK.