parrot feather watermilfoil, Myriophyllum aquaticum

Parrot feather spends its whole life in the water - often never once coming out. But if its place is shallow enough, or the water recedes, it may pop up just enough to entertain us. A big patch of these emergent stems is quite the sight. And of course it turns out to be a guilty pleasure. Parrot feather is such an entertainment that we had to bring it here for our aquariums, and then dump it into our ponds and streams. It's now yet another one of our invasive problems. The little white bits you see in the leaf axils are pistillate flowers. Unlike most watermilfoils, parrot feather has pistillate and staminate flowers on different plants. This South American native has now taken root in AL, AR, AZ, CA, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, KY, LA, MD, MO, MS, MT, NC, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, and BC. Hardin Co TX, 4/16/22. Watermilfoil family, Haloragaceae.