Project name: Hydrilla verticillata

Description: Hydrilla verticillata is an aquatic plant native to the Old World. Reproduction is primarly by rhizomes, turions, and fragmentation. The plant was introduced in the United States when an aquarium dealer dumped an order into the canal near Tampa Bay in the early 1950s. Currently the plant is considered an invasive plant in eastern Canada, the southeast United States from Connecticut to Texas, and in California. It is known to be a known hyperaccumulator of mercury, cadmium, chromium, and lead.

Relevance: Environmental

Last updated: 2013-05-07