Hydrilla verticillata hydrilla, water thyme

• Leaves, or the whole plant, floats on the 

surface 

• Some species rooted, others free floating 

• Variable: can appear emergent, or be 

submersed, under certain conditions

Brasenia schreberi watershield; snotbonnet 

• Herbaecous perennial from 

slender rhizomes in the 

substrate 

• all submersed parts covered 

with translucent goo 

• leaves football-shaped, entire, 

peltate. stems and undersides of 

leaves purple, surfaces of leaves 

green 

• flowers emergent, light purple

Brasenia schreberi watershield; snotbonnet

Eichornia crassipes water hyacinth 

• Herbaceous perennial 

• exotic EPPC Category 1 

• free-floating, variable in sizeto 

3 ft “bull hyacinth” 

• leaves elliptic to round, with 

parallel veins 

• petioles inflated and spongy, 

balloon-like 

• fibrous, feathery, dark purple 

roots 

• flowers pale purple, in spikes, 

with yellow spot

Eichornia crassipes water hyacinth

Lemna spp. common duckweeds 

• Tiny floating plants, 1/10 -1/8 

inch long 

• leaf pale green on both surfaces 

• each leaf with 1 root on the 

lower surface 

• similar to Spirodela, Wolffia, 

Wolfiella

Nuphar luteum spatterdock, cowlily 

• Herbaceous perennial from 

spongy rhizomes 

• leaves floating, sometimes 

emergent or submersed 

• leaves entire, heart-shaped, 

notched 

• flowers yellow, round, 6 petallike 

sepals open only partially 

• fruit flat topped, many-seeded

Nuphar luteum spatterdock; cowlily

Nymphaea odorata white water lily 


rhizomes 

• leaves round, with notch, lobes 

ending in points 

• flowers showy, white, many 

petals, many stamens. Citrus 

fragrance 

• fruit matures under water

Nymphaea odorata white water lily

Nymphoides aquatica floating hearts 

• Herbaceous perennials from 

rhizomes 

• leaves heart-shaped, 

prominently veined undersides 

rough and red-spotted 

• banana-like clusters of tuberous 

roots 

• flowers in clusters just below 

leaves, emergent

Nymphoides aquatica floating hearts

Pistia stratioides water lettuce 


stolons 

• forms large colonies of floating 

plants 

• leaves in rosettes, like heads of 

lettuce, densely pubescent, light 

green 

• flowers very small, 

inconspicuous in center of 

rosette, spreads vegetatively

Pistia stratioides water lettuce

Salvinia minima water fern 

• Aquatic free-floating fern 

• exotic 

• can form extensive mats 

• floating fronds roundish with 

heart-shaped base, 10-15 mm 

long. 

• fronds with ventral midrib, 

gives plant a folded appearance, 

stiff hairs on the upper side of 

fronds

Salvinia minima water fern

• Main vegetative parts completely under 

water. 

• Flowers at or above the surface 

• Many exotic species 

• variable: can also be emergent or floating

Cabomba caroliniana fanwort 

• Submersed annual 

• flexible, slightly flat stems 

• leaves opposite, dissected, fanlike 

• leaves soft, flexible 

• leaves and stems green to 

reddish 

• flowers held above the surface, 

white to pinkish-purple

Cabomba caroliniana fanwort

Ceratophyllum demersum coontail 

• submersed annual 

• large colonies, to 15 ft. 

• rough leaves, stems 

• leaves in whorls of 5+, 

dissected dichotomously 

• flowers tiny, sessile in leaf axils 

• often in deep water, beneath 

mats of floating vegetation

Ceratophyllum demersum coontail

Chara muskgrass 

• Macroalgae that resembles 

vascular plant 

• rough to touch 

• garlicky, musky odor 

• whorls of 6-8 branchlets 

alternate with internodes 

• closely related to Nitella, which 

lacks roughness and odor

Hydrilla verticillata hydrilla, water thyme 

• submersed aquatic perennial 

leaves whorled, toothed, rough 

midrib on underside 

• flowers: tiny, male and female 

• other reproductive parts: both 

turions--”buds” in the leaf axils; 

and tubers--at root tips 

• displaces native submersed 

communities; estimated 

coverage: 95K acres in Florida 

• EPPC Category 1 

• throughout Florida --43% of 

public water bodies

Hydrilla verticillata hydrilla, water thyme

Mayaca fluviatilis bog moss 

• small, submersed or emergent 

perennial 

• stems typically horizontal and 

may root at nodes 

• leaves bright to dark green, 

linear, whorled around stem 

• flowers small but showy, pink 

• strongly resembles club mosses

Mayaca fluviatilis bog moss

Najas guadalupensis southern naiad 

• Submersed monoecious annual 

• slender, branched stems 

• leaves opposite, narrow, linear 

approximately 1/2 in. long 

• very tiny teeth on leaf margins 

(see with magnification) 

• leaf bases sheath the stem 

• internodes about the same 

length as leaves 

• inconspicuous flowers

Najas guadalupensis southern naiad

Utricularia spp. bladderworts 

• Genus of insectivorous plants 

• most of the vegetative parts 

submersed; occasionally in 

hydric soil 

• plant composed of stems and 

modified branches 

• bladders (specialized traps) 

prsent on all or part of the stems 

and branches 

• flowers irregular, 2-lipped, 

yellow except for U. purpurea 

• some spp. with whorled floating 

branches

Utricularia spp. bladderworts

Vallisneria americana tape grass 

• Submersed, rooted perennial 

• leaves ribbon-like to 7 ft. long 

• conspicuously veined leaves, no 

midrib, finely serrulate margins 

• small white flowers, separate 

male and female

Vallisneria americana tape grass

• “Shoreline emergents” or “wetland 

emergents” 

• rooted in the soil, with most vegetative and 

flowering parts growing above the surface 

• large group: >1000 species when all aquatic 

and wetland habitats considered

Alternanthera philoxeroides alligator weed 

• Mat forming perennial 


• stems hollow, fleshy 

• leaves opposite, somewhat 

succulent, sheath at stem 

• flowers in rounded spikes from 

the leaf axils, papery sepals 

• spreads by seed production and 

fragmentation

Bacopa caroliniana lemon bacopa 

• Succulent perennial 

• strong lemony scent when 

crushed 

• variable form: emergent, matforming, 

or submersed 

• leaves opposite, sessile, dark to 

bright green 

• small blue flowers on short 

stalks in leaf axils

Bacopa caroliniana lemon bacopa

Bidens spp. beggar ticks, bur-marigolds 

• Showy annuals or perennials 

• opposite leaves; entire or 

dissected 

• flowers yellow (white in B. 

alba) in disks and rays, “daisylike” 

• 2 types of flower bracts--outer 

green, leaflike and inner 

yellow-brown

Bidens spp. beggarticks; bur-marigolds

Colocasia esculenta wild taro 

• perennial herb from a corm 

• large arrowhead shaped leaf 

• flowers: on fleshy stalk in 

spathe 

• fruit: small berry on fleshy stalk 

• naturalized along streams, 

marshes, canals, lakes 

• displaces shoreline emergents 

• EPPC Category 1 

• distributed throughout Florida

Eriocaulon sp. pipewort 

• Tufted perennial herbs 

• long flowering stalks 

• basal rosettes of linear leaves 

with aerenchyma tissue visible 

• roots thickened, septate, pale 

• compact heads of minute white 

flowers 

• approximately 6 species in FL

Eupatorium capillifolium dog fennel 

• Perennial herb 

• many-stemmed 

• leaves opposite, variable: 

deeply dissected and fine when 

mature 

• inflorescences many-branched, 

many flower heads, minute, 

white. 

• Found in many habitats--any 

disturbed wet soil

Hydrocotyle umbellata water pennywort 


• emergent typically, roots at 

nodes, sometimes floating or in 

dense mats 

• leaves round with crenate 

margins, peltate 

• flowers small, 5-petaled, 

whitish, in umbels

Hydrocotyle umbellata water pennywort

Lachnanthes caroliniana redroot 


• rhizomes and roots bright red 

• leaves flattened, swordlike, 

equitant like iris 

• flowers small, yellow, in fuzzy 

terminal inflorescences, so plant 

has a “woolly” appearance

Ludwigia leptocarpa water primrose 

• Annual and perennial herbs 

• 4-6 bright yellow petals, 

correpsonding number of 

persistent sepals 

• fruit a many-sided capsule, 

many seeds, below the 

attachment of petals and sepals 

• L. leptocarpa capsules elongate 

• leaves opposite or alternate, 

sessile or petioled

Ludwigia peruviana water-primrose

Ludwigia repens red ludwigia

Myriophyllum heterophyllum variable leaf 

watermilfoil 

• Perennial emergent or 

submersed plant 

• Flowering stems emersed, with 

thick stems, flowers in whorls 

around stem, with leafy, serrate 

bracts 

• submersed stems dark red, with 

pinnately dissected leaves in 

whorls

Myriophyllum heterophyllum variable-leaf 

watermilfoil

Polygonum spp. smartweeds 

• Annual or perennial herbs 

• sprawling habit 

• stems swollen at the nodes, with 

papery tubes sheathing stem 

called ocrae 

• flowers small, in narrow spikes, 

white, turning pink with age

Polygonum spp. smartweeds

Polygonum spp. smartweeds

Pontederia cordata pickerelweed 

• Perennial herb, often forming 

extensive colonies 

• leaves with parallel veins, blade 

heart to lance shaped, with 

sheathing petiole bases 

• flowers showy, purple with a 

yellow spot (nectar guide), in 

spikes. 2-lipped, stamens 6 (3 

short, 3 long).

Pontederia cordata pickerelweed

Sagittaria lancifolia duck potato, arrowhead 

• Perennial herb, forms corms at 

tips of rhizomes (‘potatoes’) 

• leaves large, lance shaped, 

• flowers unisexual, on same 

plant, 3 white petals, 3 green 

sepals, in whorls of 3. 

• Fruit flattened, beaked

Sagittaria lancifolia duck potato

Typha latifolia cattail 

• Large perennial herb, to 3m tall 

• often forms large colonies 

• leaves erect, thick, linear, flat 

• inflorescences with tiny, 

densely packed flowers, male 

above, female below 

• wide range of habitats; can be a 

nuisance species

Typha latifolia cattail

Xyris spp. yellow-eyed grass 

• Grass-like herbs with fibrous 

roots 

• leaves basal, often iris-like or 

needle-like 

• cone-like spikes of overlapping 

bracts (‘pine cones’) from 

which yellow (or white) 3 

parted flowers emerge 

• habitat: hydric soils of pond and 

lake margins, wetlands

Xyris spp. yellow-eyed grass

• Plants with an above ground woody stem 

• multiple stems or a single trunk

Acer rubrum red maple 

• Potentially large deciduous tree 

• smooth grayish bark, shallowly 

furrowed 

• leaves palmate, 3-5 lobes 

• toothed margins, lobes Vshaped, 

bases U-shaped 

• small red flowers 

• fruit a red double samara 

(papery wings)

Acer rubrum red maple

Acer rubrum red maple

Cephalanthus occidentalis 

• Understory deciduous shrub 

• branches arching, often 

contorted, with raised lenticels 

• leaves opposite, simple, elliptic, 

deeply-veined 

• flowers white, small, funnelshaped, 

sessile in globe-like 

heads, from the leaf axil 

• heads persist in fruit

Myrica cerifera wax myrtle 

• Evergreen shrub or small tree 

• smoooth, pale gray bark 

• leaves alternate, elliptic, 

aromatic; margins entire or 

coarsely toothed 

• yellow glandular dots on leaves 

• flowers unisexual, usually on 

separate plants 

• fruit a gray, waxy drupe

Salix caroliniana willow 

• Deciduous tree or shrub, often 

thicket-forming 

• bark brown, furrowed 

• leaves alternate, long and lanceshaped, 

margins finely toothed 

• flowers unisexual, on separate 

plants; both dense catkins 

• fruit a capsule, with tiny seeds 

attached to cottony white hairs

Taxodium spp. Bald-cypress and pondcypress 

• Potentially large coniferous 

canopy tree 

• base of trunk often buttressed 

• often with “knees” 

pneumatophores, projecting 

through substrate 

• leaves needle-like, on short 

shoots, feather-like and in a flat 

plane (T. distichum) or pointy 

and appressed to erect 

branchlets (T. ascendens)

Hypericum fasciculatum marsh St. John’s 

wort 

• Multi-branched shrub, bushy, 

approximately 1-2 m tall 

• bark gray, peels in sheets 

• leaves needle-like in short 

bundles 

• flowers yellow, 5-petaled 

• most common species of 

Hypericum, found on pond, 

lake and depression marsh 

margins

• Leaves arranged alternately on opposite 

sides of the stem (2-ranked) 

• stems usually hollow 

• sheaths usually open 

• inflorescence a spikelet 

• fruit a grain

Panicum hemitomon maidencane 

• Grass forming extensive stands 

• erect stems, loose sheaths 

• sheaths glabrous to sparsely 

pilose 

• ligule membranous and ciliate 

• panicles stay appressed to main 

stem

Panicum repens torpedo grass 

• Grass forming extensive stands 


• rhizomatous, bluish-green 

stems and leaves 

• rhizomes with sharply-pointed 

tips (torpedoes) 

• leaves linear with thin hairs on 

upper surface near base

Urochloa mutica para grass 

• Perennial grass 


• stems reclining, then growing 

upward, roots at lower nodes, 

nodes swollen, very pubescent 

• sheaths densely shaggy below 

to somewhat so above 

• spikelets purplish, panicles 

open, branches horizontal

Urochloa mutica para grass

Urochloa mutica para grass

• Annual or perennial herbs 

• stems solid, usually 3-angled, but 

sometimes nearly round. 

• Leaves 3-ranked, sometimes sheaths only 

• flowers grouped in spikes, with bristles, 

scales, or sacs. 

• Fruit an achene

Carex spp. caric sedges 

• Clump forming perennial herbs 

• leaves 3 ranked, basal 

• flowers unisexual on 1 plant 

• inflorescence a cluster of spikes 

• fruit an achene, enclosed within 

a sac, (perigynium)

Carex caric sedges

Cladium jamaicense sawgrass 

• Perennial sedge 

• stem sharply 3-angled 

• leaves flat with saw-toothed 

midrib 

• clusters of brown spikelets at 

ends of brances 

• in fresh and brackish water

Cyperus spp. Flat sedges 

• Annual or perennial herb 

• stems leafy near base 

• inflorescence a cluster of flat 

spikelets, subtended by bracts 

• achenes covered by papery 

scales

Eleocharis spp. Spikerushes (not really 

rushes!) 

• Annual or perennial herbs, 

sedges 

• commonly mat forming 

• stems usually string-like, entire 

plant glabrous 

• inflorescence a single, erect 

spike terminating the stem 

• No leaves! 

• No bracts! 

• No branching! 

• Achenes tiny

Eleocharis spp. Spikerushes

Rhynchospora spp. Beakrushes (not rushes!) 

• Perennial herbs, mostly clump 

forming 

• leafy stem, triangular, but 

sometimes weakly so 

• leaves usually shorter than 

stem, bracts usually longer than 

inflorescence 

• spikelets in terminal or axillary 

clusters 

• achenes lens-shaped, topped by 

pointy cap, with bristles at the 

base. Scales present, but fall 

off.

Rhynchospora spp. beakrushes

• Perennial (1 or 2 species annual) herbs 

• clumping or in elongate colonies 

• stems round, with white spongy tissue 

• inflorescence terminal or appearing axillary 

with a single bract (like J. effusus) 

• fruit a capsule, with minute, powdery seeds

Juncus effusus soft rush (a real rush!) 


• forms large tussocks 

• leaf sheaths open, no blades, 

bristle tipped 

• fruit a shiny brown capsule, 

with bracts below 

• seeds minute, powdery without 

magnification

Hydrilla verticillata hydrilla, water thyme

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