FIELD ID CHARACTERISTICS:
Leaves feather-like and whorled; often not flowering.
Synonym(s): Enydria aquatica, Myriophyllum brasiliense, Myriophyllum proserpinacoides
Description: A small herbaceous plant growing in water or stranded at mud edges, with light green feathery leaves.
Leaves: Light green, deeply toothed feathery leaves that rise above the water surface.
Flowers/Fruit: Inconspicuous white flowers at bases of leaves, but usually not flowering at all. Flowers and fruits April to September/October.
Habit and Range: Ponds, lakes, ditches, sluggish streams. Common in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain; rare in the Mountains.
COMMON CONFUSIONS:
Myriophyllum aquaticum (parrot feather watermilfoil) can be confused with the less common Proserpinaca spp. (mermaid-weed), which have similar, but flattened and much less feathery, leaves. Myriophyllum heterophyllum (twoleaf watermilfoil) submerged nonflowering stalks are similar, but leaves are less divided and almost like an array of soft spines. Flowering stalks of M. heterophyllum emerging above the water are robust with small, thick, toothed leaves. Several other rare and uncommon Myriophyllum species occur in certain counties of the Coastal Plain.
Click here to view Myriophyllum heterophyllum.
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