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Milfoil
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Milfoil Description:
Eurasian Watermilfoil (Myriophyllum Spicatum) is native to
Europe, Asia and northern Africa. It was introduced to the
United States many years ago in the 1940's. Eurasian Milfoil is
an underwater plant and bears only a slight difference from US
native Milfoil. Because it is an attractive plant, it was once
commonly sold as an aquarium plant. The Eurasian Milfoil has
12-21 pairs of leaflets leaf and the native northern Milfoil
only has 7-11 pairs of leaflets
Milfoil grows best in fertile, inorganic sediments. It prefers
very active lake beds which receive nitrogen and
phosphorous-laden runoff. Because of the poor seed germination,
it reproduces by fragmentation. It produces fragments during the
summer after fruiting once or twice. The shoots get carried away
by currents or boaters. Because of its ability to spread
rapidly, it often blocks out sunlight for plants native to the
lakes. The dense groups can also block out larger fish,
therefore disrupting the predator-prey relationship. Many
waterways become congested due to these dense groups as well.
Milfoil
Milfoil Identification:
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Reddish-brown plant stem that thickens below the water and
curves to lie parallel with the water surface
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Submersed feathery leaves
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Tiny 4 part flowers stick out 2 -4 inches above the water
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The
flowers can be four petaled or without any petals
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The
fruit is contained in a hard capsule with 4 seeds in it
Information on Eurasian Water Milfoil
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