What IS that plant??

Have you ever seen a plant in a pond and thought "Gee, that looks nice. I think I'll take a piece home with me!"

STOP!! Wait! That plant may be an invasive species or even on the Federal Noxious Weed list. Some of the plants are quite attractive; however, they can make Kudzu look like a slow grower. Give them an inch, and they will take over the entire pond, the neighbor's pond, and then start on the local waterways.

What plants are these? Well, there are several very good websites with information about the various plants, plus how to identify them:

NCSU Aquatic Weed Factsheets

Aquatic plants of Texas

Federal Noxious Aquatic Weeds Poster (pdf format)

Not all aquatic plants are bad....but do you know the difference?

AQUATIC PLANT MANAGEMENT LINKS is a good site to find additional information about aquatic plants

Do you have too much of a good thing and want to know how to get rid of it...or at least control it better? The Aquatic Plant Management website has several useful guides. For example, Weed Management in Small Ponds lets you know the relative effectiveness of mechanical removal, biological control, and chemical control on a particular plant.

Bog Gardens and Water Gardens

Water Garden at NH County Center for Cooperative Extension

Have you visited the Arboretum at the New Hanover County offices for NC Cooperative Extension? If not, you've missed out on a great site and a beautiful walk. One of the features is a water garden (photo above). Also present is a Bog Garden, where several NOT RECOMMENDED plants are available for viewing and to aid in identification. Again, several of these plants are not recommended for home ponds and water gardens (click on images to view larger version):

	Parrot feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum, non-native) was introduced into the United States in the late 1800s as an aquarium plant and has spread through most of the southern US. It grows in areas of full sun to partial shade and in wet soil to water depths of six feet or more. Although the plant is mostly submersed, a portion may extend 8 to 12 inches above the water surface. Only female plants are present in the US, so reproduction occurs entirely vegetatively. Dense growths can provide breeding areas for mosquitos and degrade both water quality and habitat for fish and wildlife.
	Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes, non-native) is a free-floating perennial that can grow to a height of 3 feet. It has striking light blue to violet flowers. The plant is a very agressive invader and can form thick mats. If permitted to cover the entire surface of a pond, they can cause oxygen depletions and fish kills.
	Alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides, non-native) can exist as dense, free-floating mats on water to entirely on soil. Its spread through the southern US occurred mainly with contaminated nursery stock. Biological control insects have mostly eliminated alligatorweed as a major aquatic problem except in the coastal plain of North Carolina, where the control insects do not overwinter.
	Elodea or Egeria (Egeria densa, non-native) was introduced by the aquaqrium trade and is the top-selling aquatic plant for use in aquaria as "oxygenators". It can form dense surface mats that, besides interfering with boats, recreation and wildlife, support large mosquito populations and also serve as anchorage points for other nuisance plants, such as alligatorweed.
	Arrowheads (Sagittaria species) are perennial plants whose leaves usually have 3 points, giving it the arrowhead shape; however, some are narrow and almost grass-like. Arrowheads can grow in shallow water or in wet areas. Leaves grow in clusters from the base and can be from less than a foot tall to over 4 feet. They spread rapidly by seeds and extensive rhizomes.
	Water pennywort (Hydrocotyle species)
	Water lettuce (Pistia stratoites, non-native)
	Cattails (Typha species) reach heights of 5 to 10 feet. They can be partially submerged or in boggy areas with no permanently standing water. Cattails spread rapidly because their seeds blow in the wind and float on the water's surface. They also spread from underground rhizomes.

Mother Nature put to work:

Several of these plants have a history of use in water treatment. Water hyacinth has been used to remove heavy metals from industrial wastewater. Cattails, Arrowhead, and other plants not mentioned here have been used in constructed wetlands for the treatment of landfill leachate, municipal waste, and agricultural waste. Eastern North Carolina is home to several wetland projects:

City of Goldsboro project (http://www.cwmtf.net/goldsboro.htm)

New Hanover County Landfill Constructed Wetlands project (http://www.nhcgov.com/dem/demlandfill.asp)

Alternative Swine Waste Treatment project (http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/onslow/staff/drashash/enved/wetlnd1.html)

Who named these things!?!

Alligatorweed, Coontail, Parrotfeather, Duckweed, Lizard's tail, Duck popato...there's even a Marsh Mallow! For more about the Marsh Mallow, visit the Would a Mallow by Any Other Name Taste So Sweet? page (http://www.assateague.org/plover/2-93-a.html).

E-mail me at: diana_rashash@ncsu.edu or Mail me at: Dr. Diana Rashash Area Specialized Agent-Environmental Education North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service 4024 Richlands Hwy. Jacksonville, NC 28540 Phone: (910)455-5873 Fax: (910)455-0977

Environmental Education website Environmental Update index On-Site Wastewater Treatment (Septic Systems!) Southeast Regional On-site Training Center Onslow County Homepage New Hanover County Homepage Other County Homepages

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/onslow/staff/drashash/enved/aquaticweeds.html