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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE WATERMILFOIL FAMILY | |||||||||
| The watermilfoils are a family of
aquatic herbs. These plants grow around the world, but are actually most
common in the southern hemisphere. In Saskatchewan, we have less than ten
members of this family. These plants have underwater as well as above water parts. The leaves are alternate, opposite, or whorled. The above water leaves are usually simple, but the under water leaves are deeply dissected into thread-like segments. The flowers can be solitary in the axils of the leaves or in terminal clusters. The flowers can be perfect or imperfect and some species will have both kinds of flowers. There are usually four sepals and petals and anywhere from two to eight stamens. The fruit is a nut, fleshy and single-seeded or dry and splitting into single-seeded segments. |
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| ALTERNATE-FLOWERED WATERMILFOIL | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Myriophyllum alterniflorum | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Alternate-flowered watermilfoil is an aquatic plant with a slender stem up to 20 cm long. The underwater leaves are whorled with up to seven pairs of divisions. The above water leaves are greatly reduced. The flowers are in spikes above the surface of the water. The male flowers can be solitary or in opposite pairs at the top of the spike, while the female flowers are in whorls below. The bracts are alternate and often entire. The male flowers have eight stamens. The fruit is nut-like and deeply four-lobed. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Alternate-flowered watermilfoil grows in shallow lakes. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in northern Saskatchewan in the Mid-Boreal Upland, Churchill River Upland, Athabasca Plain, and Tazin Lake Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Alternate-flowered watermilfoil is vulnerable because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan. No immediate threats are known for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY ALTERNATE-FLOWERED WATERMILFOIL | |||||||||
| * Are the male and female flowers in the same spike? * Does this plant live in the water? * Do the male flowers have eight stamens? * Did you find it in northern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found alternate-flowered watermilfoil! | |||||||||
