*Parrot's Feather - a weed (*Myriophyllum aquaticum).

Other names *Myriophyllum brasiliense.

Family: Haloragaceae (Raspwort family).

Native of South America.

Occurrence: Parrot’s Feather grows in creeks and shallow water. It has potential to be a serious pest in local waterways.

Identification:

• it grows in water with stems up to 2 metres long
• leaves are in groups of four to six leaves, growing in a ring around the stems
• the leaves growing above the water are divided into comblike teeth
• the leaves are green to blue
• the flowers are inconspicuous.

Parrot’s Feather is an introduced Water Milfoil. It is a troublesome weed of water channels and creeks. It spreads vegetatively from broken stem fragments, so that careless weeding may help spread the plant.

Similar species: There are some common native Water Milfoils. The natives differ from Parrot’s Feather in that

• the leaves may not grow in rings around the stems, or
• only the submerged or emerged leaves are in rings around the stem, or
• the leaves are not toothed like a comb, or
• the leaves are green or reddish, and not bluish.

Photo 1: Leaves of Parrot’s Feather. 2: Emergent leaves. 3: A dense growth of Parrot’s Feather. All photos: Campbells Creek.