Elodea nuttallii

Nuttall's waterweed, Nuttall's Waterweed

Family: Hydrocharitaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Nuttall's waterweed is a native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, Sierra Nevada, Sacramento Valley, San Bernardino Mountains, and Great Basin in shallow water habitats including streams, lakes, and ponds at elevations of 500 to 2,800 meters. Flowering from July to August, this aquatic plant produces small, inconspicuous white flowers. Growing with slender, branching stems submerged in water, it forms dense underwater vegetation. Its leaves are distinctive, arranged in whorls of three along the stem, with narrow linear blades 6 to 13 millimeters long and less than 2 millimeters wide, appearing delicate and flaccid. The plant produces short soft-hairy seeds that aid in its underwater dispersal.

Habitat: Shallow water, streams, lakes, ponds

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: 500-2800 m

Bioregions: KR, SNH, ScV, SnBr, GB

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.