Hydrilla verticillata

Hydrilla

Family: Hydrocharitaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Hydrilla is a naturalized perennial herb found in northern and central Sierra Nevada foothills, Sacramento Valley, southern California coastal areas, and desert regions in canals, ponds, and lakes at elevations below 200 meters. Flowering from June to August, this aquatic plant produces small white flowers with spheric or cylindric structures. Growing with elongate, much-branched stems that root at nodes and can reach several centimeters tall, it forms dense underwater vegetation. Its leaves are distinctive, typically 4 to 8 per node, sessile, oblong, and coarsely serrate with sharp-pointed tips measuring 1 to 2 centimeters long. The plant produces small fusiform fruits approximately 5 to 6 millimeters in length, making it a persistent and adaptable aquatic invasive species.

Habitat: Canals, ponds, lakes

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: < 200 m

Bioregions: NCoRI, n&ampc SNF, ScV, SCo, D

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