Eurasian water-milfoil
(Myriophyllum spicatum)
General description:
An emergent, herbaceous aquatic plant, Eurasian watermilfoil, usually extends 3 to 10 feet, but can reach as much as 33 feet in length. The stems are reddish-brown to whitish-pink. It forms dense mats on the surface of water bodies, and new plants that may emerge from each node on a stem root on contact with mud. Regenerates mostly from rhizomes, fragmented stems, and axillary buds that develop throughout the year. Eurasian watermilfoil can be found in nearly 400 WI lakes.
Ecological threat:
- Invades lakes, rivers, and other water bodies ranging from fresh to brackish; thrives in areas that have been subjected to various kinds of natural and manmade disturbance.
- Can form large, floating mats of vegetation on the surface of water bodies, preventing light penetration for native aquatic plants and impeding water traffic.
- Winter-hardy, able to overwinter in frozen lakes and ponds in northern states and Canada; also able to grow in shallow, over-heated bays such as Chassahowitzka Bay in FL.
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