Western watermilfoil
Myriophyllum hippuroides · Aquatic plants
Whole plant · Photo: Nolan Exe / CC BY
Also called Western milfoil
How to identify Western watermilfoil
- Finely divided submersed leaves in whorls of 4 or 5
- Emergent stem tips carry narrow, undivided, lance shaped leaves
- Flowers in the axils of the emergent leaves
Similar plants
Whorled watermilfoil has comblike bracts on its spike rather than narrow undivided leaves; parrotfeather has bluish green feathery leaves above the water.
Growth profile
| Growing season | Grows through spring, sends up emergent tips in summer and dies back in fall. |
|---|---|
| Starts growing | About 55 F water |
| Light | Prefers clear to moderately clear water |
| Depth | Shoreline to 6 feet |
| How it spreads | Stem fragments and seeds |
| Habitat | Ponds, sloughs and slow streams, mostly west of the Cascades. |
Why it matters in a lake
A native milfoil that is easy to confuse with invasive species. It often grows partly out of the water on shorelines as levels drop.
Where it is found
- Idaho: Not recorded
- Oregon: Occasional
- Wyoming: Not recorded
Classification
| Kingdom | Plantae |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Tracheophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Saxifragales |
| Family | Haloragaceae |
| Scientific name | Myriophyllum hippuroides |
Eurasian watermilfoil
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White water buttercup
Slender naiadNeed a hand?
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