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Egeria

Egeria densa

Non-Native

Egeria Location in North America
Egeria Location in Southeast US
many egeria being held

egeria drawing
egeria close up
egeria in water

egeria top view
Egeria being held
Clump of egeria

USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 28 March 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
Illustration courtesy of University of Florida/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants. Used with permission.

What is Egeria?

Physical Characteristics

Leaves:

Lower Leaves:

  • Opposite or in whorls of 3

Middle & Upper Leaves:

  • Whorls of 4 to 6
  • Immobile
  • Crowded
  • Straight
  • Up to 1.5 inches long and 0.2 inches wide

Flowers:

  • White
  • 3 petals
  • 3-lobed

Stem:

  • Cylindrical
  • Slender
  • 0.08-0.13 inches thick
  • Straight
  • Branching

Roots:

  • Rooted on the bottom or floating if broken off

Egeria is often confused with the native Elodea or the non-native Hydrilla. Hydrilla has one or more teeth on the underside of the midrib, neither Elodea nor Egeria have these midrib teeth. The teeth make Hydrilla feel rough when drawn through your hand from base to tip. Flowers of Egeria are larger than Hydrilla. Egeria leaves are larger than elodea and in whorls of 4 to 6 and not 3 as with elodea.

Where Does it Grow?

Non-Native

Egeria is native to South America but has become naturalized in much of the Southeastern U.S. Egeria can be found in lakes, ponds, ditches, pools, and quiet streams.

Pros and Cons of Egeria

This plant is not native to North America, but has naturalized in much of the United States. While it is not illegal to possess this plant in Texas, it should not be introduced into new water bodies and should be treated with herbicide when present.

How to Manage This Plant
Plant Glossary

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Photo Credits: The majority of the aquatic plant line drawings are the copyright of the University of Florida Center for Aquatic Plants (Gainsville). They are used with permission.

Aquatic plant photographs were provided by David Bayne, Jim Davis, Kelly Duffie, Billy Higginbotham, Michael Masser, John Clayton, Chetta Owens, Diane Smith, Joe Snow, Don Steinbach, Bridget Robinson Lassiter and Peter Woods.

You may use these photos, so long as you give credit to AquaPlant.

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