Eurasian Water-milfoil
Myriophyllum spicatum
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in ponds and impoundments. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 71%
- Height
- 1–9 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Wet to standing water
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Do not plant. Listed invasive in Arkansas.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- April to October
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 1 Arkansas county.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Myriophyllum
- 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
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist 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
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
Plant details
- Family
- Haloragaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–10b
- Flower color
- Yellow, pink or red
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow, pink or red” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1–9 feet” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Frequent standing water” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Eurasian Water milfoil; Eurasian Watermilfoil
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications