Weed Information: Ludwigia peploides (waterprimrose, creeping)
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Ludwigia peploides (waterprimrose, creeping)

Family: Onagraceae

Description

In or near the water, the stems prostrate, often floating and rooting at the nodes. The bright yellow flowers with five petals are often an inch in diameter.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Yellow
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Solitary, axillary
Number of Petals
  • 5 petals
Petal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Petal Tip
  • Bilobed
  • Rounded
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
  • 8 mm (.32 inch)
  • 9 mm (.36 inch)
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
  • 1.5 cm (.6 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
  • 1.5 cm (.60 inch)
  • 2.0 cm (.80 inch)
  • 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
  • 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)
  • 3.5 cm (1.4 inches)
  • 4.0 cm (1.6 inches)
  • 4.5 cm (1.8 inches)
  • 5.0 cm (2.0 inches)
Number of Sepals
  • 5 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 1 style
Number of Stamens
  • 10 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
  • 5 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Inferior (epigynous)
Fruit Type
  • Capsule, > 3-celled
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
  • 1.5 cm (.60 inch)
  • 2.0 cm (.80 inch)
  • 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
  • 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)
  • 3.5 cm (1.4 inches)
  • 4.0 cm (1.6 inches)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Alternate
Leaf Type
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Pinnate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole < 25% total length
  • Petiole 25% - 75% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Oblong
  • Obovate
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Entire
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acuminate (attenuate)
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acute
  • Rounded (obtuse)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)
  • Pubescent
  • Sparsely hairy
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)
  • Prostrate
  • Spreading ascending
  • Floating
Plant Height at Maturity
  • < 1 cm (< .40 inch)
  • 1 - 5 cm (.40 - 2.0 inches)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Aquatic
  • Semi-aquatic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

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

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Rhizomatous
  • Rooting at the nodes

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • West Virginia
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Iowa
  • New Mexico
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Nebraska
Other
  • Puerto Rico

  • Aquatic and Riparian Plants of the West, 2003 (ISBN# 1-879906-59-7) See page: 249
  • California Growers Weed Identification Handbook, 1968 - 1998 University of California Publication # 4030-1, See page: 215
  • Common Weeds of the United States, 1971 (ISBN 0-486-20504-5) See page: 270
  • Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 317
  • Weeds of Kentucky and Adjacent States, 1991 (ISBN 0-8131-1743-7) See page: 126
  • Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 241
  • Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 216
  • 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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