Myriophyllum aquaticum
Plants
brazilian watermilfoil, parrot feather, parrot feather watermilfoil, parrot's-feather, parrotfeather
Myriophyllum aquaticum (Parrots-Feather), has the growth form of a 'creeping emergent' plant, growing partly submerged in shallow water, with emergent stems and feathery leaves. It is a native of South America, was first recorded in 1890 in the US in Washington D.C. area as an ornamental planting next to a government building. The first wild record of M. aquaticum in Chesapeake Bay is a record from Hunting Creek, Alexandria VA (Hitchcock and Standley 1919). It was probably imported as an ornamental fishpond plant by aquarium dealers. Isolated records occured in widely separated areas before 1920, suggesting many separate escapes. Many populations in northern areas seem to have been ephemeral.but by 1961-1980. it was well established in southeast states (VA-TX; OK). It was found in the Sacramento River in 1933, and established in Columbia River sloughs by 1994. It has been introduced to Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Japan, and Africa It is considered locally invasive in some ares.