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Myriophyllum spicatum

Common name:	Water Milfoil	Family:	Haloragidaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, including Britain, Asia, N. Africa, N. America..
Habitat:	Lakes, ponds, ditches etc, to 450 metres. Locally common, especially in calcareous waters[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	M. exalbescens[B,G,P] M. exalbescens var. magdalenense[B,P] M. magdalenense[B,P] M. sibiricum[B,CPHOTO,CAL,CAL,,G,P] M. spicatum ssp. exalbescens[B,P] M. spicatum ssp. squamosum[B,P] M. spicatum var. capillaceum[B,P] M. spicatum var. exalbescens[B,P] M. spicatum var. squamosum[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Aarvederkruid [D], Eurasian Water-milfoil [L,B], Millefolium [E], Shortspike Watermilfoil [P], Siberian Water-milfoil [B], Spike Watermilfoil [P], Spiked Water Milfoil [H], Spiked Water-milfoil [L],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	myriophyllum = many leaved spica = spike spicatum = in spikes
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China Europe
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: Florida, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Washington, New South Wales, Queensland.

Physical Characteristics

Perennial. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from June to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. The plant prefers acid, 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

Root.

Root - raw or cooked[257]. Sweet and crunchy, the roots were a much relished food for several native North American Indian tribes[257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Demulcent Febrifuge.

The plant is demulcent and febrifuge[178].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a sandy medium, rich in decaying organic matter, in full sun[200].
Plants overwinter as resting buds at the bottom of the pond[1]. Another report says that the plants do not form winter buds, but persist at the bottom of the pond[56].
This species is considered to have the potential to be invasive when introduced into some areas such as Texas[274].
A good water oxygenator[200].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but the seed is quite probably of limited germination, especially if it becomes dry, and so is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame if this is possible. Otherwise store the seed in a cool place in a jar of water and sow in the spring. Keep the pots in trays of water. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the spring.
Cuttings can be inserted directly into the soil of the pond at any time in the growing season[56].
Division.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[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 Myriophyllum sibiricum (a possible synonym).

[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.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

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]).

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[56] Muhlberg. H. Complete Guide to Water Plants. E. P. Publishing Ltd. 1982 ISBN 0-7158-0789-7
Deals with a wide range of plants for temperate areas (and indoor aquaria) with quite a lot of information on cultivation techniques.

[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.

[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.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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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.
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