Land Management Program at Archbold Biological Station
P.O. Box 2057,  Lake Placid, FL 33862
 Phone 863-465-2571  FAX 863-699-1927
 E-mail: landmanager@archbold-station.org

Invasive Aquatic Plants

Many of these plants are not strictly aquatic plants, but most thrive in an aquatic environment.  For example, para grass and torpedo grass are highly invasive plants in Florida wetlands and lakes, but can also displace native plants in upland habitat as well.  Some plants such as  water-hyacinth, hydrilla, water-lettuce, and alligator weed are exclusively aquatic plants and are only found in water bodies that contain water all year.  Other plants such as Old World climbing fern and downy rose-myrtle grow well in areas that are seasonally inundated such as bayhead swamps and pine flatwoods.  Others such as Brazilian pepper and Caesar's weed thrive at the edge of ecotones separating uplands from wetlands.

* = Plant not known from Archbold Biological Station, but occurring in Highlands County

• Wild Taro (Colocasia esculenta)
  

• Water-Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)*
  

• Alligator Weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides)*
  

• Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata)*
  

• Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium microphyllum)
  

• Melaleuca (Melaleuca quinquenervia)
  

• Torpedo Grass (Panicum repens)
  

• Water-Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes)*
  

• Downy Rose-Myrtle (Rhodomytrus tomentosa)
  

• Brazilian Pepper (Schinus terbinthifolius)
  

• Para Grass (Urochloa mutica)
  

List Compiled by Jeff Hutchinson

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• Hutchinson, J.T., April 2003.
© Archbold Biological Station, 2003 April.
• Webmaster: Fred Lohrer, email: webmaster@archbold-station.org