Weed Information: Elodea canadensis (elodea, common)
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Elodea canadensis (elodea, common)

Family: Hydrocharitaceae

Description

One of the most common submerged aquatic plants in the northern half of the U.S. The upper leaves in whorls of three, light green and translucent when wet, often covered with a white calcareous film when dry.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • White
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Solitary, axillary
Number of Petals
  • 3 petals
Petal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Petal Tip
  • Rounded
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • 3 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Sepal Tip
  • Rounded
Flower Sex
  • Unisexual (monoecious or dioecious)
Number of Styles
  • Styles lacking (male flowers only)
  • 1 style
  • 3 styles
Number of Stamens
  • stamens lacking (female flowers only)
  • 9 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens NOT attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 0 (male flowers only or plants producing spores)
  • 3 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Capsule, 1-celled
  • Capsule, 3-celled
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
  • 8 mm (.32 inch)
  • 9 mm (.36 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Opposite
  • Whorled 3 per node
Leaf Type
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
Leaf Width
  • 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Lanceolate
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Entire
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acute (cuneate)
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acute
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Perennial
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Erect, columnar (narrow)
  • Submerged (mostly or totally)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
  • 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
  • 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
  • 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
  • 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
  • 1 - 1.5 meters (3.3 - 5.0 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Aquatic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem unbranched
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Fibrous
  • Rooting at the nodes

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • West Virginia
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Iowa
  • Idaho
  • Minnesota
  • Montana
  • North Dakota
  • New Mexico
  • Nevada
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • South Dakota
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
  • Nebraska
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • New Brunswick
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Quebec
  • Manitoba
  • Saskatchewan
Other
  • Puerto Rico
  • District of Columbia

  • Aquatic and Riparian Plants of the West, 2003 (ISBN# 1-879906-59-7) See page: 96
  • The Biology of Canadian Weeds: Canadian Journal of Plant Science Vol68Pg1035
  • Common Weeds of the United States, 1971 (ISBN 0-486-20504-5) See page: 28
  • Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 25
  • Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 43
  • Weeds of the Northern U.S, and Canada, 1999 Royer and Dickinson, (ISBN# 1-55105-221-0) See page: 390
  • Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 48
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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