Elodea nuttallii

Elodea nuttallii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Hydrocharitaceae
Genus: Elodea
Species: E. nuttallii
Binomial name
Elodea nuttallii
(Planch.) H.St.John
Synonyms

Anacharis nuttallii
Anacharis occidentalis
Elodea columbiana
Elodea minor
Elodea occidentalis
Philotria minor
Philotria nuttallii
Philotria occidentalis

Female flower of Elodea nuttallii

Elodea nuttallii is a species of waterweed known by the common name western waterweed or Nuttall's waterweed.[1] This is a perennial aquatic plant which is native to North America where it grows submersed in lakes, rivers, and other shallow water bodies. It is also found in Eurasia, where it is commonly weedy; it is not known as a weed species in its native range. It is sometimes used as an aquarium plant.

Description

It is similar to its relative, Elodea canadensis. However the leaves taper to an acute point.

It has a thin branching stem with whorls of flat leaves at intervals. Some leaves are recurved and twisted, with minute teeth.

It bears tiny flowers, the staminate ones abscissing from their stalks and floating away from the plant. It flowers from May until October.[2] In Europe nearly all individuals are female, only some places with male plants are known.[3]

Distribution

The first european evidence of Elodea nuttallii was probably 1914 in England, though it had been determined wrongly as Hydrilla verticillata.[4] It is a invasive species to Europe and is now covering practically the whole continent.

References

  1. ↑ "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. ↑ Rose, Francis (2006). The Wild Flower Key. Frederick Warne & Co. pp. .483–484. ISBN 978-0-7232-5175-0.
  3. ↑ http://www.aquatischeneophyten.de/AquatischeNeophytenNRW.de/Webseiten%20neu%20deutsche%20Version/Elodea%20nuttallii.htm
  4. ↑ Bennet 1914, cited in Weber-Oldecop, D.W. (1977): Elodea nuttallii (Planch.) St. John, eine neue limnische Phanerogame der deutschen Flora. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 79: 397-4037

Media related to Elodea nuttallii at Wikimedia Commons


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