Myriophyllum spicatum

Ähriges milfoil ( Myriophyllum spicatum )

The spiked water milfoil ( Myriophyllum spicatum ), also called Ährenblütiges milfoil, is a aquatile plant from the family of the milfoil plants ( Haloragaceae ). Apart from the flowers, it grows completely submerged. It has a large area of ​​distribution in the northern hemisphere.

Description

The spiked water milfoil is a perennial aquatic plant and can be about 40 to 200 inches long. The plant roots with a rhizome in about 1 to 1.5 m water depth. The branched stems are reddish or brownish and with a few bright green warts. The scion is also mentioned a strong trained aerenchyma ( aerenchyma ). The feingefiederten stem leaves are usually four of us ( rarely fifth or threes ) in whorls. They are divided into 14 to 40 filiform bristly or leaflets that are arranged more or less on opposite sides. The aged men inflorescences, which always protrude at flowering time on the water, 4 to 16 cm long. The flowers are arranged to fourth, they are pink or rarely white colored in whorls. In the lower part of the inflorescence there are female, male flowers at the top, rarely, there are also hermaphroditic flowers. The upper bracts of the flower whorls are rounded and entire, shorter than the petals, the bottom can be cut to fiederförmig. The male flowers consist of a ganzrandigen supporting papers, a bell-shaped, vierzipfligen, cut to the middle calyx, four petals and eight stamens. The supporting papers of the female flowers is divided like a comb, her cup is tube -shaped, petals usually absent or very small. On a short stylus sits the feathery, pink scar. The four -piece fruit is about 2 mm.

Occurrence

The ear - milfoil is quite common in eutrophic diving sheet companies, also loaded, rather calcareous, to find standing waters with muddy ground. It grows not only in Germany, but is circumpolar distribution and is in front of the entire northern hemisphere. Stocks, there are not only in North Africa but also in Somalia and in the Asian region in the Philippines. It is particularly common in fresh water, but also occurs in brackish water.

In the Alps, the spiked water milfoil rises to 930 m, in Pakistan it is 1000-2500 m to find height and up to 4200 m, in some sources in Tibet in China even to 5200 m altitude.

The spiked water milfoil is a characteristic species of the phytosociological order of freshwater pondweed companies ( Potamogetonetalia ).

Ecology

The spiked water milfoil is a submerged free-floating or anchored with a rhizome than Schlammwurzler in soil water plant. For gas exchange and buoyancy it has a aerenchyma. Often are deposited lime particles on their leaves. Pollination of flowers is via water. The pollen is usually transmitted by wind rarely by insects to other plants, where it is then used for fertilization. Bloom time is from June to August.

The resulting therefrom, decay because in 4 small nuts gap fruits are spread out over the water. Fruit ripening in October.

In contrast to the ear - hustling milfoil milfoil does not form winter buds ( turion ).

Hunting and

The spiked water milfoil is occasionally kept as an ornamental plant in aquariums.