Myriophyllum alterniflorum | |
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Myriophyllum alterniflorum | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Saxifragales |
Family: | Haloragaceae |
Genus: | Myriophyllum |
Species: | M. alterniflorum |
Binomial name | |
Myriophyllum alterniflorum DC. | |
Myriophyllum alterniflorum, known as alternate water-milfoil [1] or alternateflower watermilfoil, [2] 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.
M. alterniflorum is an aquatic plant that stands approximately 4 feet tall with stems that range from 1-4 feet long. Stems are often submerged in murky or clear water. M. alterniflorum leaves are found both submerged and above water, with leaf location influencing their physical characteristics. Their leaves have blade lengths of 3-22 mm [3] with emergent leaves being smaller than those submerged. All leaves exhibit a whorled habit, with 3 or more leaves per node. [3] Leaves are commonly located at eight nodes along each stem, are typically red and green, and rarely brown. [4] The flowers on this plant are found above the water, with attached fruit. Each of these fruit that are found in this section are 1.5 mm in length. [4] These fruits then dry and split apart when they are finally ripened. [3] The flowers themselves tend to be more perennial meaning that they bloom three or more growing seasons, and on the smaller side. [4] The flowers bloom in the month of August, which causes them to emerge out of the water.
M. alterniflorum is found in more shallow areas in bodies of water (e.g., rivers and lakes), in order for these plants to survive in these areas the water needs to be slow moving. [3] The preferred type of water tends to be fresh or even brackish water (i.e., salt and freshwater mixed together). These plants tend to be cultivated in more sandy and mucky types of environments, due to the pH preference being 5.4-11 pH level. This is considered to be an alkaline environment, where the plant tends to thrive best in.
It is found to be native to areas in Europe, but it is mostly found in France, but it can also be found in areas of North America. Mainly in the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Canada. [3] It is found in 48 US states, with the exception of the states of Hawaii and Wyoming. [5] In New England, it is most commonly found in Maine, especially in habitats with slow moving bodies of water, such as rivers and lakes. In 1888 it was introduced to Mountain Lake in San Francisco, California.
The initial case of water milfoil invasion took place in the 1940’s, where the plant was thought to have been transported to the United States from Europe. The initial vector is mainly being linked to trade situations such as the aquarium and aquatic nursery uses. It is assumed that the mode of transportation was through a ballast ship, making this plant abundant in high motorboat use bodies of water. [6] Water milfoils are thought to have invaded North America through water transmission including boat, propellers, and fish gear. [6] Decades later, the milfoil is still present and actively impacting parts of the ecosystem in several ways.
M. alterniflorum has been used to control and mitigate the levels of pollution in bodies of water (lakes and rivers, or any slow moving bodies of water), mainly in the shallow portions. It was found that its presence restored natural levels of ammonia and was a more effective restoration effort than introducing ammonia through fertilization, which artificially drove up ammonia levels. [7] The antioxidant enzyme activity test helps in the aid in identifying metal contamination in aquatic habitats. [8] The biomarker test was used to complete this task instead of the antioxidant enzyme activity, due to a higher efficiency and higher accuracy.
Watermilfoils often form a thick layer of weed that disrupts sunlight emission to native species such as plants and fish that are underneath the layer. [6] Specifically in North America, where the plant is considered invasive, the native plants are at risk due to the milfoil threatening ecological balance of invaded lakes and ponds. It has been found to block sunlight to other plants due to its thick leaf structure, lowering the rate of emission to more of the native plants found below.
Milfoils can be harvested using traditional methods such as manual removal and pruning. [9] This method is cost efficient but is not time efficient or effective long term. Pulling the plant from the root does not guarantee success of removal. Machinery can also be used for clearing invaded areas. The downside of using machinery is the expensive cost. Selectivity is also limited since the machine targets all plants.
Selectivity is an issue that arises again when using chemicals to control the invasive species. The chemicals can sometimes eliminate native species as well, leaving nothing behind. Consistency is essential when using herbicides in order to get rid of the plant when it does grow back. A commonly used herbicide is 2-4-D, fluridone (Sonar) or triclopyr. [8]
Salvinia molesta, commonly known as giant salvinia, or as kariba weed after it infested a large portion of Lake Kariba between Zimbabwe and Zambia, is an aquatic fern, native to south-eastern Brazil. It is a free floating plant that does not attach to the soil, but instead remains buoyant on the surface of a body of water. The fronds are 0.5–4 cm long and broad, with a bristly surface caused by the hair-like strands that join at the end to form eggbeater shapes. They are used to provide a waterproof covering. These fronds are produced in pairs also with a third modified root-like frond that hangs in the water. It has devastated countless lakes throughout the United States, including Caddo Lake.
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that grows in or near water and is either emergent, submergent, or floating. In lakes and rivers macrophytes provide cover for fish, substrate for aquatic invertebrates, produce oxygen, and act as food for some fish and wildlife.
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.
Myriophyllum is a genus of about 69 species of freshwater aquatic plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The center of diversity for Myriophyllum is Australia with 43 recognized species.
Myriophyllum aquaticum is a flowering plant, a vascular dicot, commonly called parrot's-feather and parrot feather watermilfoil.
This article gives an overview of the aquatic communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.
A hydrosere is a plant succession which occurs in an area of fresh water such as in oxbow lakes and kettle lakes. In time, an area of open freshwater will naturally dry out, ultimately becoming woodland. During this change, a range of different landtypes such as swamp and marsh will succeed each other.
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.
Pontederia crassipes, commonly known as common water hyacinth and by its Bengali name "kochuripana," is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive outside its native range. It is the sole species of the subgenus Oshunae within the genus Pontederia. Anecdotally, it is known as the "terror of Bengal" due to its invasive growth tendencies.
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.
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 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.
Potamogeton diversifolius is a species of aquatic plant known by the common names waterthread pondweed and diverse-leaved pondweed. It is native to most of the United States, as well as sections of southwestern Canada, and northern Mexico, where it grows in water bodies such as ponds, lakes, ditches, and slow-moving streams. This is a perennial herb producing a very narrow, compressed stem branching to a maximum length around 35 centimeters. It has thin, pointed linear leaves a few centimeters long spirally arranged about the thin stem. The inflorescence is a small spike of flowers emerging from the water surface. Inflorescences also grow on submersed sections of the stem; these are smaller and spherical. It can be difficult to distinguish from similar species of pondweed.
Salvinia minima is a species of aquatic, floating fern that grows on the surface of still waterways. It is usually referred to as common salvinia or water spangles. Salvinia minima is native to South America, Mesoamerica, and the West Indies and was introduced to the United States in the 1920s-1930s. It is classified as an invasive species internationally and can be detrimental to native ecosystems. This species is similar to but should not be confused with giant salvinia, Salvinia molesta.
Aquatic plant management involves the science and methodologies used to control invasive and non-invasive aquatic plant species in waterways. Methods used include spraying herbicide, biological controls, mechanical removal as well as habitat modification. Preventing the introduction of invasive species is ideal.
Myriophyllum pinnatum, common names cutleaf water-milfoil, green parrot's-feather, and pinnate water-milfoil, is a species of Myriophyllum.
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.
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