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    Center For Aquatic And Invasive Plants

    Center For Aquatic And Invasive Plants

    Section 1 - Header
    • plants.ifas.ufl.edu
    • Why Manage Plants
    • Florida's Invasive Aquatic Plants
    • Uruguayan waterprimrose

    Uruguayan waterprimrose

    Quick Facts

    • Scientific name: Ludwigia uraguayensis complex L. grandiflora & L. hexapetala
    • Origin: South & Central America / Southern US
    • Introduction: Mid-1880s, ornamental plant trade
    • Aquatic community: Emergent
    • Habitat: Wet soils to water a few feet deep floating mats
    • Distribution: Peninsular Florida, especially Central
    • Management effort: Eradicate new colonies Maintenance for established populations
    • 2020 Acres Treated: 827

    Uruguayan waterprimrose Uruguayan waterprimrose


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    Environmental and Economic Concerns

    • Rooted in the substrate in wet soils to several feet of water with rhizomes >15 feet long
      • early creeping growth form aids dispersal; erect growth form covers / outcompetes native plants
      • forms dense stands that can alter habitats and exclude native plants – also allelopathic
    • Fragments drift into and colonize stands of emergent plants
      • overgrow and outcompete other emergent plants
      • dense floating / drifting mats crowd and shade out submersed plants
      • restrict water flow and motor boat traffic
    • Reproduction is primarily by fragmentation – also seeds
      • fragments easily spread by boat traffic or water movement
      • persistent rhizomes, leaf fragments and rapid growth make control extremely difficult
    • L. grandiflora and L. hexapetala freely hybridize
      • individual species and hybrids appear similar, but respond differently to different herbicides
      • varying hybrid appearance and herbicide susceptibility add to difficulty in control

    Management Options

    • Biological: None available
    • Chemical: Imazamox, Carfentrazone, Glyphosate, 2,4-D, Imazapyr
    • Mechanical: Harvest mature mats – fragments likely start new infestation. Extreme biomass leads to high harvest and disposal costs
    • Physical: Not feasible due to extensive rhizomes

    Data compiled from "What’s Happening on my Lake" by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

     

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