Myriophyllum | |
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Myriophyllum aquaticum | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Saxifragales |
Family: | Haloragaceae |
Genus: | Myriophyllum L. |
Subgenera | |
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Myriophyllum (water milfoil) is a genus of about 69 species of freshwater aquatic plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The centre of diversity for Myriophyllum is Australia with 43 recognized species (37 endemic). [1]
These submersed aquatic plants are perhaps most commonly recognized for having elongate stems with air canals and whorled leaves that are finely, pinnately divided, but there are many exceptions. For example, the North American species M. tenellum has alternately arranged scale like leaves, while many Australian species have small alternate or opposite leaves that lack dissection. The plants are usually heterophyllous, leaves above the water are often stiffer and smaller than the submerged leaves on the same plant and can lack dissection. Species can be monoecious or dioecious. In monoecious species plants are hermaphrodite, in dioecious species plants are either male or female, the flowers are small, 4(2)-parted and usually borne in emergent leaf axils. The 'female' flowers usually lack petals. The fruit is a schizocarp that splits into four (two) nutlets at maturity. [1] [2]
The fruits and leaves can be an important food source for waterfowl, which are thought to be an important source of seed and clonal dispersal.
Three species (M. aquaticum, M. heterophyllum and M. spicatum) have aggressively invaded lakes, natural waterways and irrigation canals in North America. The U.S. states most affected have implemented control plans.
The Tennessee Valley Authority detected milfoil in its waters in the 1960s. [3] It discounted milfoil's value as a food or feedstock and fought it with chemicals and lowering of water levels. It suggested that water lilies ( Nelumbo lutea ) might deny it sunlight.
The widespread invasive Eurasian water milfoil (M. spicatum) is often controlled with herbicide containing diquat dibromide. Control can also be done through careful mechanical management, such as with "lake mowers," [4] but this is a fragmenting plant, and the fragments may grow back.
Mechanical management can include the use of a long-reach lake rake or aquatic weed razor blade tool. Using these tools is similar to lawn work. These tools are most effective before seeds set. Infestations can be prevented through the use of a Weed Roller or a LakeMaid. These are automated and unattended machines. Permits may be required by various states.
In 2007, Professor Sallie Sheldon of Middlebury College reported that an aquatic weevil ( Euhrychiopsis lecontei ), which eats nothing but milfoil, was an effective weapon against it. [5]
Since roughly 2000, invasive milfoils have been managed by hand-harvesting. Several organizations in the New England states have undertaken successful lake-wide hand-harvesting management programs. Periodic maintenance is necessary; the species cannot be completely eradicated once established, but it can be reduced to manageable levels. Well-trained divers with proper techniques have effectively controlled milfoil and maintained lakes, such as in the Adirondack Park in Northern New York where chemicals, mechanical harvesters, and other management techniques are banned as disruptive. The Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) of Paul Smiths College touts the effectiveness of hand-harvesting.
A detailed molecular phylogenetic study enabled the construction of an infrageneric taxonomy but also revealed that another Haloragaceae genus, the monotypic Meziella Schindl. , once thought to be extinct, was embedded within it, leading to its submersion within the former as Myriophyllum subgenus Meziella. This created three subgenera, further divided into sections and subsections: [6]
Lake Bomoseen is a freshwater lake in the western part of the U.S. state of Vermont in the towns of Castleton and Hubbardton in Rutland County. It is the largest lake that lies entirely within the state's boundaries, with a surface area of approximately 2,400 acres (9.6 km2). The lake was formed by glaciation and has an average and maximum depth of 27 feet (8.2 m) and 65 feet (19.8 m), respectively. It drains a 24,770-acre (100.25 km2) watershed, has five major inlets, and empties to the Castleton River, a tributary of the Poultney River, which in turn flows west to East Bay at the southern end of Lake Champlain.
Myriophyllum aquaticum is a flowering plant, a vascular dicot, commonly called parrot's-feather and parrot feather watermilfoil.
Lake George is a small lake in Anoka County, Minnesota, located within the city of Oak Grove, 12 miles (19 km) north of the city of Anoka. Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources tracks the lake by the name George and the identifier 02-0091-00. The USGS tracks the lake by the ID 644081 and the coordinates of 45°21′25″N93°20′10″W
Myriophyllum spicatum is native to Europe, Asia, and north Africa, but has a wide geographic and climatic distribution among some 57 countries, extending from northern Canada to South Africa. It is a submerged aquatic plant, grows in still or slow-moving water, and is considered to be a highly invasive species.
Haloragaceae is a eudicot flowering plant family in the order Saxifragales, based on the phylogenetic APG system. In the Cronquist system, it was included in the order Haloragales.
Haloragis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Haloragaceae. Some species are known commonly as seaberry and most are native to the southern hemisphere. They are annual or perennial herbs to small shrubs, and many are terrestrial wetland plants.
Acentria is a monotypic moth genus of the family Crambidae described by James Francis Stephens in 1829. Its only species, Acentria ephemerella, the watermilfoil moth or water veneer, was described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is used as an agent of biological pest control against the noxious aquatic plant known as Eurasian watermilfoil.
Katey M. Walter Anthony is an Alaskan aquatic ecologist and biogeochemist researching carbon and nutrient cycling between terrestrial and aquatic systems, and the cryosphere and atmosphere.
Myriophyllum verticillatum, the whorl-leaf watermilfoil or whorled water-milfoil, is a native to much of North America, North Africa, and Eurasia. It closely resembles another native milfoil, called northern water milfoil Whorled water milfoil is also easily confused with four types of invasive milfoils: Eurasian water milfoil, Variable water-milfoil, Parrot feather, and hybrid water milfoil.
Myriophyllum sibiricum is a species of water milfoil known by the common names shortspike watermilfoil, northern watermilfoil, and Siberian water-milfoil. It is native to Russia, China, and much of North America, where it grows in aquatic habitat such as ponds and streams. It generally grows over a meter long, its green stem drying white. It is lined with whorls of fanlike green leaves divided into many narrow, feathery lobes.
Euhrychiopsis lecontei, also known as the milfoil weevil, is a type of weevil that has been investigated as a potential biocontrol agent for Eurasian water milfoil. It is found in the eastern and central United States and western Canada.
Myriophyllum alterniflorum, known as alternate water-milfoil or alternateflower watermilfoil, is a species of water-milfoil. It is native to Europe and Asia,has been introduced to North America and inhabits aquatic habitat, such as ponds and streams.
Parapoynx allionealis, the watermilfoil leafcutter moth, is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1859. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Quebec, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
Myriophyllum variifolium is a species of water milfoil native to eastern Australia where it grows in aquatic habitat such as ponds and streams.
Myriophyllum simulans is a species of water milfoil native to southeastern Australia where it grows in aquatic habitat such as ponds and streams, as well as muddy or swampy soil. Highly variable, it closely resembles M. variifolium.
Gonocarpus micranthus is a shrub in the watermilfoil family Haloragaceae native to eastern Australia and New Zealand. Common names include creeping raspwort.
Lake Namakagon is located in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. The lake is a large freshwater drainage lake that opens inlet and outlet of streams located between Lake Superior and Mississippi River system. The lake is located in the upper Namekagon river watershed as St. Croix river basin is the subwatershed of it. The lake derives its name from the Ojibwe language, and it means "Lake abundant with sturgeons." It is known for tourism and was the home of the legendary Anishinaabe Chief Namakagon.
Myriophyllum heterophyllum is a species from the genus Myriophyllum native to North America. It was first described by André Michaux.
Myriophyllum implicatum is a species of water milfoil in the family Haloragaceae. It is native to north-eastern Australia.