Flowering plant. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Flowering stems. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, near Coongie Lakes, SA

Common Name

Red Water-milfoil

Family

Haloragaceae

Notes

Perennial forb to 1.5m tall, aquatic or in mud.  Emergent leaves usually in whorls of 3-4, 0.3-0.9cm long, to 3mm wide, flat, glaucous green to reddish purple, lower leaves deeply lobed, upper leaves entire.  Submerged leaves in whorls of 3-4, feathery, 0.4-1.2cm long, with 8-20 leaflets.  Male and female flowers on the same plant, occasional flowers bisexual, usually small (less than 3mm across).  Male flowers with 4 small hooded yellow petals, which fall off easily.  Female flowers with 0 petals, and white stigmas.  Flowers solitary at the bases of the leaves.

Description and photo in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales pages 538-9

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Myriophyllum~verrucosum