alligator-weed, Alternanthera philoxeroides

What a wonderful plant! If you're a mosquito! So much depends on your point of view. If you are a mosquito, the dense mats that these plants form in wetlands are a wonderful place to raise your kids. Alligator-weed and skeeters have a commensal relationship. That's when one species benefits, and the other is unaffected. From our point of view, things are a lot more detrimental. Not only does this invasive screw things up in wetlands, it also spreads onto dryer land and takes over. This one really could go back where it came from. Alligator-weed has been reported from AL, AR, CA, FL, GA, IL, KY, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, and VA. Taylor Co FL, 7/8/18. Amaranth family, Amaranthaceae.