Form: aquatic — perennial
Status: present in WA
Appearance
A submerged, much branched perennial freshwater aquatic herb usually rooted in the bottom mud. Male and female flowers are produced on separate plants. Female plants have not been recorded in Australia; all reproduction is vegetative.
Stems: Green to brown, slender, much branched three to five metres long, 2-2.5 millimetres wide.
Leaves: Attached direct to stem (no stalks), edged with fine forward pointing teeth. Lower leaves opposite, upper leaves in whorls of three to seven, strap-like and tapering to a point; 1.5-3 centimetres long and three to five millimetres wide.
Flowers: White formed in the axils of the upper leaves, and carried to the surface on a thread-like stem. Male flowers in groups of two to four.
Fruit: Cylindrical, seven to eight millimetres long, three millimetres diameter.
Agricultural and economic impact
An environmental water weed.
Declared pest category
The Western Australian Organism List (WAOL) contains information on the area(s) in which this pest is declared and the control and keeping categories to which it has been assigned in Western Australia (WA). Search for leafy elodea in the WAOL using the scientific name Egeria densa.
Requirements for land owners/occupiers and other persons
Requirements for land owners/occupiers and other persons if this pest is found can be sourced through the declared plant requirements link.
Search > detect > report
| MyPestGuide™ Reporter | Pest and Disease Information Service (PaDIS) |
Control method
Control methods for this declared plant can be found through the leafy elodea control link.