Egeria

Other Common Names: Brazilian Elodea, leafy Elodea, dense waterweed, Brazilian waterweed

(Egeria densa)

Non-Native

Egeria is a submerged plant with three to six leaves per whorl and no midrib teeth.

Description

Slender stems are straight and branching, usually a foot or two tall but can be much taller. Egeria can be rooted to the bottom or floating if broken off.

This plant has dark green, lance like leaves in whorls of four to six (lower leaves are in whorls of three) which become denser near the tip of the stem.

Flower stalks rise above the water about an inch. The flowers have three white petals up to three quarters of an inch across.

 

Egeria is often confused with Hydrilla or Elodea. Egeria leaves do not have midrib teeth like Hydrilla. Leaves of Egeria are in whorls of four to six while Elodea leaves are in whorls of three. Egeria flowers are larger than Hydrilla’s.

Location

Egeria can be found across the lower two-thirds of the United States and along the coastal states.

Propagation

fragments, roots