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Non-Native Invasive Aquatic Plants in the United States
Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants, University of Florida |
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Non-Native Invasive Aquatic Plants in the United States
Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants, University of Florida |
pronounced: lim-no-fil-a se-si-li-flo-ra (long/short marks) (audio clip)
from:
"marsh loving plant having flowers without stalks"
Habitat:
Quick ID:
The best way to track the spread of invasive aquatic plants may be to identify
the drainage basins (watersheds) they have been discovered in. Drainage maps give useful
information to eco-managers because drainage maps show precisely where the plants are, making
it easier for managers to infer where the plants might go next, and thus where to take preventive
measures.
How it got here:
Limnophila sessiliflora continues to be sold through aquarium supply dealers and
over the Internet, even though the plant is on the U.S. Federal Noxious Weed
List.
Potential to spread elsewhere in U.S.:
Problems/Effects:
Control:
From the University of Florida Aquatic Weed Management Guide, Vandiver
1999:
What can you do?
Laws and lists:
Want to know more?
If you want to read the research yourself, perhaps to clarify or expand an area of information
contained here, or to help determine your own line of research, you are welcome to query the
world's largest collection of international scientific literature about aquatic, wetland and invasive
plants, the APIRS
bibliographic database, which contains more than 54,000 citations and their content
keywords. Or you might want to ask us to do
it for you and mail or e-mail the search results to you.
This is the literature about Limnophila sessiliflora that was used to
develop this web page. More research items about this plant may be found at APIRS:
Limnophila sessiliflora: medium-small sized, submersed and emersed plants;
leaves in whorls around the stem;
underwater leaves are very different from above-water leaves; small flowers are blue, violet, pink
or lavender, attached in the upper leaf axils
More complete identification:
Limnophila sessiliflora (Vahl) Blume
Original description:
Limnophila sessiliflora might be confused with plants having "feathery"
submersed leaves,, such as:
--fanwort has darker green submersed leaves, fanwort has no aerial stem
parts, and fanwort has white flowers
Origin:
Distribution in the U.S.:
U.S. Drainage Distribution Map of
Limnophila sessiliflora was prepared by C. Jacono of the U.S. Geological
Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Program, which is located on the USGS-NAS web site.
There is no information in the scientific literature as to the potential for Limnophila
sessiliflora to spread in the U.S.
Limnophila sessiliflora :
the action of mechanical harvestors and chopping machines serves to help
spread this invasive plant, which re-grows from leaf fragments.
the herbivorous (plant-eating) biological control fish, the Chinese grass
carp, does not eat Limnophila sessiliflora
registered aquatic herbicides provide very limited control of this species
(Mahler 1980); however, high levels of 2-4,D reportedly kills this plant (Mahler 1980);
otherwise,
there is almost no literature describing possible control methods for this plant
According to this Guide,
rates.
There's plenty you can do to help.
Limnophila sessiliflora
The information contained on this wep page was extracted from published
scientific literature and agency reports. It is important to know that plant research, like most
areas of scientific research, is still relatively young and incomplete--much may have been
published about the physiology of one plant but not about its management; much may have been
published about how to culture and grow another plant but not about its natural ecology.
Thousands of research articles may have been published about one invasive plant, but perhaps
only a dozen about another.
Anecdotal information about Limnophila sessiliflora would be appreciated by users
of this web site. Please submit anecdotal information, additional reference citations and
corrections for this page to
CAIP-WEBSITE@ufl.edu