water milfoil

plant

Also known as: Myriophyllum

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Related Topics:: Haloragaceae

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water milfoil, (genus Myriophyllum), genus of about 45 widely distributed species of submerged freshwater flowering plants in the family Haloragaceae. The plants have whorls of feathery leaves and emergent (growing above the water level) wind-pollinated flowers. Most species reproduce sexually as well as asexually from fragments. Some species are cultivated in pools and aquariums, especially the parrot’s feather, or water feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum), the myriad leaf, or whorled water milfoil (M. verticillatum), and the red water milfoil (M. tuberculatum). Eurasian water milfoil (M. spicatum) is considered an invasive species in parts of North America and in other areas outside its native range.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.