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Loose Water-milfoil

Myriophyllum laxum

Found in limesink depression ponds (dolines), spring-runs, rarely also in lakes. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

36
Good

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 76%

Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Wet to standing water
Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
June to October

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves

Height: NC species account not read yet.

Spread and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 8 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Georgia pond and emergent wetland
Regional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 106 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Myriophyllum

  • Argyrotaenia ivanaIvana Leafroller Moth
  • Choristoneura parallelaParallel-Banded Leafroller, Spotted Fireworm Moth
  • Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
  • Parapoynx allionealisWatermilfoil Leafcutter, Bladderwort Casemaker
  • Parapoynx badiusalisChestnut-Marked Pondweed Moth
  • Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
7BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Myriophyllum

  • Anas platyrhynchosMallard
  • Aythya affinisLesser Scaup
  • Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
  • Cygnus olorMute Swan
  • Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
  • Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
  • Mareca streperaGadwall
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Haloragaceae
Flower color
Pink
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Loose Water milfoil

Conservation status

Alabama rankS2
Global rankG3
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources