Elodea nuttallii (Planch.) H.St.John

Western waterweed, Nuttall's waterweed

Elodea nuttallii is a freshwater aquatic plant that forms dense mats, often submerged.

It is easy to confuse it with Elodea canadensis, which has leaves that are shorter with a length to width ratio of 3:1 and apex ovate, while Elodea nuttallii of 6:1 and more acute apex.

Elodea nuttallii is native to North America, it grows in running waters, irrigation canals, ponds, lake bottoms, and lowland rivers with calm, warm and shallow deep, nutrient-rich, from sea level to about 600m.

Native to: Alabama, Arkansas, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Québec, Rhode I., Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Introduced into: Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Buryatiya, Canary Is., Central European Rus, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Irkutsk, Italy, Jamaica, Krasnoyarsk, Krym, Morocco, Netherlands, New South Wales, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, North European Russi, Northern Territory, Northwest European R, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Queensland, Romania, South Australia, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tasmania, Transcaucasus, Turkey, Turkey-in-Europe, Ukraine, Victoria, West Siberia, Western Australia, Yugoslavia.

Submitted by: Natasha Khardina

GPS: 45.1261292, 9.3747349

Geographical region: Southern Europe
Drainage Basin: Adriatic
River catchment: Po River
Water body type: River
Water body name: Olona
Water body part: Meander
Water body course: Middle course
Water body: tributary of: River
Tributary name: Lambro

Type locality: Unknown type material.
Conservation status/IUCN Red List: Least Concern (LC)
Listed in CITES: No

Water Chemistry

Water information

Water type: Fresh water
Water color: Clear water
Water transparency: Medium
Concentration of sediments: Medium
Water temperature: 15-28 °C
Water flow/curent: Slow

Chemical parameters

pH: 7.0-9.0
Conductivity
GH
KH
Dissolved Oxygen

Phytology

Plant form

Submersed

Plant type

Stem

Plant size

30-100 cm

Plant growth rate

Fast

Plant light demand

Medium

CO2

Low

Aquarium equipment

Elodea works well in many fish tanks. Elodea acts to increase the levels of oxygen in the water. It can also be a food source for different fish and aquatic snails. The leaves also absorb nutrients from the water that are normally considered a nuisance to other organisms in an aquarium (such as nitrogen).

To keep Elodea nuttallii in the aquarium provide the it with 10-12 hours of light. Elodea can grow if it is free floating, but it does grow more vigorously if it is rooted in a substrate.

Plant care

Elodea nuttallii is a dioecious species and outside its range rarely reproduces sexually. Vegetative reproduction occurs due to the fragility of the small stems, which, when broken by currents, root and make autonomous small plants genetically identical to the mother plant.

Depending on the make-up of your aquarium community, it may be necessary to add an aquatic plant fertilizer to replenish depleted mineral content. Iron is of primary concern as Elodea depletes this mineral rapidly. Leaf chlorosis is the most common sign of iron deficiency. Leaves yellowing at the edges only may be showing signs of potassium deficiency.

Water care

In Nature it is normally found in shallow waters with pH between 7 and 9. It lives in waters rich in limestone and slightly brackish, tolerating polluted waters.

Comment by the expert

This aquatic plant is introduced as an aquarium plant, the main risk of the species spreading is related to carelessness in disposing of the residues of its cultivation, disposing of contaminated water in the wild.

Elodea nuttallii exhibits overgrowth, forming dense submerged beds, impeding recreational and professional use of streams and lakes by clogging drainage channels and navigation and port infrastructure. Dense communities slow water movement, reduce light, lead to anoxic conditions and promote sediment deposition.

Elodea nuttallii can become dominant in Man-made aquatic systems, tends to smother native macrophyte communities, driving them to extinction. Decomposition of plants at the end of the growing season generally induces secondary eutrophication, leading to the accumulation of end products that are toxic to many plants.

Several characteristics are typical of an invasive species: rapid growth, vegetative reproduction through fragments easily dispersed by waterfowl and current.

For management of invaded areas, the best option is a combination, when possible, of mechanical control and chemical control.