You should see the typical DCIM/ folder with just .MISC and 100APPLE sub folders. Then you can track whether a third party app or just an accumulation of various photos is causing the folder structure to grow.
Elodea fulfills all of these conditions; therefore, it is alive and therefore an organism.
Elodea thrives in a nutrient-rich environment, but will grow under  many conditions in many types of sediment. It can even continue to  grow unrooted, as floating fragments.