Eurasian Water-Milfoil
Scientific Name:
Myriophyllum spicatum
Type:
Herbaceous Plant
Habitat:
Still or slow-moving fresh to brackish bodies of water
Range:
Every continent except Antarctica and potentially Australia
Status:
Least Concern (IUCN Red List)
This species is
INVASIVE
to the Truckee Meadows.
Identification:
Eurasian water-milfoil is considered a noxious weed and is an invasive species. It has long strands of whorled, green leaves and can create a mat cover in still waters. It mainly grows from broken off shoots (shoot fragments), making it very easy to grow or become established in a variety of locations.
Fast Facts:
The aquatic moth, Acentria ephemerella, eats and damages the milfoil and is sometimes used as a biological pest control.
Eurasian water-milfoil, as its name suggests, is native to Europe and Asia. The plant was accidentally introduced to North America in the 1940s, potentially escaping an aquarium or being brought in on a commercial boat.
Dense areas of Eurasian milfoil can block sun from reaching the depths of bodies of water, which can threaten native photosynthetic species.
Sources:
iNaturalist, Eurasian Water-Milfoil, 2021, https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/78157-Myriophyllum-spicatum
Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, Eurasian Water-Milfoil, 2010, https://www.invasive.org/alien/pubs/midatlantic/mysp.htm
IUCN Red List, Spiked Water-milfoil, 2019, https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/164481/120202935
Image: Fungus Guy, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eurasian_water_milfoil_(Desbarats_R)_1.JPG, license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en, cropped from original.
Contributor(s):
Brianna Raggio (research & content)
Alex Shahbazi (edits & page design)