Seedbox

Ludwigia alternifolia

USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 28 March 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
Illustration: USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. Vol. 2: 588.

What is Seedbox?

Physical Characteristics

• A type of Water Primrose

Leaves:

• Sword-shaped
• 1.5-4.75 inches long
• 0.3-0.9 inches wide
• Leaf stalk 0.12-0.4 inches long

Flowers:

• 4 sepals, 0.28-0.4 inches long
• Petals 0.31-0.4 inches long
• 4 stamen

Fruit:

• Spherical or cube-shaped
• 0.2-0.24 inches long & thick

Seeds:

• Several indistinct rows
• 0.2-0.3 inches long

Stem:

• Up to 4 feet tall

Roots:

• Spindle-shaped

Where Does it Grow?

Seedbox can be found in ditches and wet places, marsh meadows, seepage areas, sluggish streams, and on the edges of pools and lakes.

Pros and Cons of Seedbox

Ducks and other waterfowl will consume the seeds of water primrose. Submerged portions of all aquatic plants provide habitats for many micro and macro invertebrates. These invertebrates in turn are used as food by fish and other wildlife species (e.g. amphibians, reptiles, ducks, etc). After aquatic plants die, their decomposition by bacteria and fungi provides food (called “detritus”) for many aquatic invertebrates.