Water-plant character

Yes. 薻 is a variant form of 藻. The Han-era dictionary Shuowen Jiezi describes it as a water plant and quotes “于以采薻” from the Classic of Poetry, an early Chinese poetry collection; the line is about gathering the plant for a temple offering.

Later uses of 藻 also carry decorative and literary meanings; in Japanese writing it can refer to aquatic plants or seaweed. Chinese fonts, from calligraphic to sans-serif and serif styles, can draw the strokes differently. Use 藻 in ordinary modern writing; retain 薻 when reproducing a source that uses this variant.