Elodea is a genus of 6 species of aquatic plants often called the waterweeds described as a genus in 1803. Classified in the frog’s-bit family (Hydrocharitaceae), Elodea is native to the Americas and is also widely used as aquarium vegetation and laboratory demonstrations of cellular activities. It lives in fresh water. An older name for this genus is Anacharis, which serves as a common name in North America.
Hydrilla (waterthyme) is a genus of aquatic plant, usually treated as containing just one species, Hydrilla verticillata, though some botanists divide it into several species. It is native to the cool and warm waters of the Old World in Asia, Africa and Australia, with a sparse, scattered distribution; in Australia from Northern Territory, Queensland, and New South Wales.
Alternanthera philoxeroides, commonly referred to as alligator weed, is a native species to the temperate regions of South America, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Argentina alone hosts around 27 species that fall within the range of the genus Alternanthera. Its geographic range once used to cover only the Parana River region of South America, but it has since expanded to cover over 30 countries, such as the United States, New Zealand, China and many more. This invasive species is believed to have been accidentally introduced to these non-native regions through sediments trapped/attached to tanks and cargo of ships travelling from South America to these various areas.
Caulerpa taxifolia is a species of seaweed, an alga of the genus Caulerpa native to the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. It is widely used ornamentally in aquariums, because it is considered attractive and neat in arrangement, and is easy to establish and care for. The alga has a stem (rhizome) just above the seafloor. From this stem grow vertical fern-like pinnae, whose blades are flat like those of the yew (Taxus), hence the species name taxifolia.
Ipomoea aquatica is a semi-aquatic, tropical plant grown as a vegetable for its tender shoots and it is not known where it originated. This plant is known in English as water spinach, river spinach, water morning glory, water convolvulus, or by the more ambiguous names Chinese spinach, Chinese watercress, Chinese convolvulus or swamp cabbage, or kangkong in Southeast Asia and ong choy in Cantonese.
Myriophyllum aquaticum is a flowering plant, a vascular dicot, commonly called parrot's-feather and parrot feather watermilfoil.
Hygrophila difformis, commonly known as water wisteria, is an aquatic plant in the acanthus family. It is found in marshy habitats on the Indian subcontinent in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal. It grows to a height of 20 to 50 cm with a width of 15 to 25 cm.
Limnophila sessiliflora, known as dwarf ambulia, ambulis, and Asian marshweed is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae.
Hygrophila, commonly known as swampweeds, is a genus of flowering plants in the acanthus family, Acanthaceae. There are about 80 to 100 species, of which many are aquatic plants. The genus is distributed across the tropical and subtropical world. It is one of only two genera in its family that contains aquatic plants, the other being Justicia. The genus is treated in the tribe Hygrophileae, which is noted as being in need of revision at the genus level, meaning the current taxonomic boundaries of Hygrophila are likely to change in the future.
Alternanthera sessilis is an aquatic plant known by several common names, including Matikaduri (মাতিকাদুৰী) in Assamese, ponnanganni, ponnaganti aaku, honnagone, mukunuwenna, sessile joyweed and dwarf copperleaf. It is used as a vegetable specially in Sri Lanka and some Asian countries.
Nymphaea mexicana is a species of aquatic plant that is native to the Southern United States and Mexico as far south as Michoacán. Common names include yellow waterlily, Mexican waterlily and banana waterlily.
Ceratophyllum demersum, commonly known as hornwort, rigid hornwort, coontail, or coon's tail, is a species of Ceratophyllum. It is a submerged, free-floating aquatic plant, with a cosmopolitan distribution, native to all continents except Antarctica. It is a harmful introduced weed in New Zealand. It is also a popular aquarium plant.
Egeria densa, the large-flowered waterweed or Brazilian waterweed, is a species of Egeria native to warm temperate South America in southeastern Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. It is considered a problematic invasive species due to its use in home aquariums and subsequent release into non-native habitats.
Hygrophila corymbosa, commonly known as temple plant, starhorn or giant hygro, is an aquatic plant in the acanthus family. It is native to South East Asia, but is grown worldwide in tropical aquariums. The plant naturally grows as an emergent, but it can survive long periods fully submerged.
Nymphoides aquatica is an aquatic plant in the Menyanthaceae, native to the southeastern United States from Texas to Maryland. It is known variously as the banana plant, banana lily, and the big floatingheart. It is most commonly called the banana plant because of its banana shaped roots. These unusual roots store nutrients.
Utricularia inflata, commonly known as the swollen bladderwort, inflated bladderwort, or large floating bladderwort, is a large suspended aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is a perennial that is native to the southeastern coastal plains of the United States. It has often been confused with U. radiata, which is similar but smaller than U. inflata. Since 1980, U. inflata has been reported to exist in locations beyond its traditional range, such as the Adirondack Mountains in New York, southeastern Massachusetts, and in Washington State. Studies on the populations in the Adirondacks suggest that an introduction of U. inflata to a location where it naturalizes can lead to altered sediment chemistry by reducing the net primary productivity of native species. It is also listed by the state of Washington as a problematic species because of the dense mat-forming habit of this aquatic Utricularia. It is one of the few carnivorous plants that can be invasive.
An algae scrubber is a water filtering device which uses light to grow algae; in this process, undesirable chemicals are removed from the water. Algae scrubbers allow saltwater, freshwater and pond hobbyists to operate their tanks using natural filtration in the form of primary production, much like oceans and lakes.
Pontederia azurea is a water hyacinth from the Americas, sometimes known as anchored water hyacinth. It is the type species of Pontederia subg. Eichhornia, which was previously recognized as part of the polyphyletic genus Eichhornia. It is of some interest as an aquarium plant.
Panicum repens is a species of grass known by many common names, including torpedograss, creeping panic, panic rampant, couch panicum, wainaku grass, quack grass, dog-tooth grass, and bullet grass. Its exact native range is obscure. Sources suggest that the grass is native to "Africa and/or Asia", "Europe or Australia", "Eurasia", "Australia", "Europe, Asia, and Africa", or other specific regions, including the Mediterranean, Israel, and Argentina. It is present in many places as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. It has been called "one of the world's worst weeds."
