Brazilian elodea
Egeria densa · Aquatic plants
Flowers or seeds · Photo: Patrick Le Mao / CC0
Also called Egeria, Anacharis, Brazilian waterweed
State noxious weed listing
- Idaho: Early detection
- Oregon: B list
How to identify Brazilian elodea
- Bright green leaves in whorls of 4 to 6, up to about 1 inch long
- Leaves densely crowded near the stem tips
- Showy white flowers with 3 petals, about 3/4 inch across, held at the surface
Similar plants
Elodea has smaller leaves in whorls of 3; hydrilla has toothed leaves with spines on the midrib and forms tubers.
Growth profile
| Growing season | Stays green year round in mild water, grows fast from spring, peaks in summer and early fall. |
|---|---|
| Starts growing | About 50 F water; grows in low light |
| Light | Tolerates low light and turbid water |
| Depth | 1 to 20 feet |
| How it spreads | Stem fragments with double nodes; only male plants occur here so no seeds |
| Habitat | Lakes, ponds, sloughs and slow rivers, especially in mild low elevation water of western Oregon. |
Why it matters in a lake
Forms thick beds that fill whole ponds and sloughs and crowd out native plants. Sold in the aquarium trade as anacharis; listed for early detection in Idaho.
Where it is found
- Idaho: Not yet found
- Oregon: Common
- Wyoming: Not recorded
Classification
| Kingdom | Plantae |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Tracheophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Alismatales |
| Family | Hydrocharitaceae |
| Scientific name | Egeria densa |
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Horned pondweedNeed a hand?
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