Menu list goes here

Herbal Database Search Results

Back to: Pathways Main Search Page For Metaphysical uses visit The Witchs Haven

Hydrilla verticillata

Common name:	Hydrilla	Family:	Hydrocharitaceae
Author:	(L.f.)Royle.	Botanical references:	200, 274
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Cosmopolitan.
Habitat:	Ponds, ditches and the bottoms of streams[147].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Water-thyme [B], Waterthyme [P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Hydrocharitales. Tape-grass family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: Whole USA, Arizona, California, Florida, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, USA Noxious.

Physical Characteristics

Annual/Perennial. It is hardy to zone 5. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Water. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It can grow in water.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Pond.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Detergent.

Used in the treatment of abscesses, boils and wounds, especially if there is debris in the wound[147]. A dried powder of the plant is applied to cuts and wounds to help accelerate healing[272].

Other Uses

Miscellany.

The plant is used in sugar refinery[177]. No more details are given.

Cultivation details

A submerged water plant, it prefers growing in alkaline water[200].
A good oxygenator for ponds, the plant forms a large mass with stems up to 2 metres long[1, 200].
This is a very vigorous species which can regrow from even small sections of the plant. It has often invaded native habitats, clogging waterways and crowding out native species of flora and fauna[274]. It is considered a noxious weed in many areas[274].
Plants can be monoecious or dioecious. Dioecious plants (usually female) are triploid forms whilst monoecious plants are diploid[274]. Male flowers are released from the plant under water. They float to the surface where they release their pollen to fertilize female flowers[274].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in early summer.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Hydrocharitaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

Hydrilla verticillata

Phoebe Wilson (paw@ufl.edu) Wed Jun 21 18:49:04 2000

I recently came upon your 'Plants for a Future' website at:

http://metalab.unc.edu/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Hydrilla_verticillata

where there is erroneous information about Hydrilla verticillata. If you really believe the following information apparently supplied by 'Plants for a Future', made on that website:

Known Hazards: None known

then someone needs to do some more research before they provide information to other people. Just visit: http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/prohib.html http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/hydrinex.html to see the problems associated with Hydrilla verticillata.

Since you live in the UK, you probably have no way of knowing about these problems, but I assure you they are very real. That plant is considered an extreme pest, to the point where they are considering some kind of biocontrol. Here in Florida, we certainly would never encourage cultivation of such a plant.

I just thought you might like to update your information.

Back to: Pathways Home page, Main Search Page Help Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Hydrilla+verticillata
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Hydrilla+verticillata

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.

Pathways Home :: View Cart :: Shipping & Returns :: Contact Us :: Privacy Policy :: Philosophy :: The Witchs Haven

We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.