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Carolina Mosquito-fern,
Azolla caroliniana
Plants dark red to green, free-floating, ca. 1cm wide, often in dense mats, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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Dwarf Waterclover,
Marsilea minuta
Leaves clover-like, the 4 leaflets borne at the summit of the petiole, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
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Water Spangles,
Salvinia minima
Hairs of upper leaf surface w 4 free, spreading branches [not joined at tips], per Weakley's Flora.
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Water Spangles,
Salvinia minima
Leaves entire, about 1cm in diameter, round or oval with a cordate base, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
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Giant Salvinia,
Salvinia molesta
Dense, rapidly growing surface mats block sun to bottom plants and animals, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).
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Giant Salvinia,
Salvinia molesta
Hairs of upper leaf w 4 branches joined at tips, forming a cage-like structure, per Weakley's Flora.
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Giant Salvinia,
Salvinia molesta
Shade-grown leaves lie flat; sunlight and crowding cause crumpling, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).
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American Bur-reed,
Sparganium americanum
Flowers are in dense globose heads - staminate above and pistillate below, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
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Common Snailseed Pondweed,
Potamogeton diversifolius
Floating leaves usually present; submersed leaves flat, linear, non-septate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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Common Snailseed Pondweed,
Potamogeton diversifolius
Surface leaves are oval, about 1 to 2 inches long and opposite, per Field Guide to Aquatic Plants of Alabama (Lovell, 2007).
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Curly Pondweed,
Potamogeton crispus
Easily recognized by the wavy edges of its flattened dark green 1-4" leaves, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).
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Southern Naiad,
Najas guadalupensis var. guadalupensis
Leaves at many nodes along the stem, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
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Southern Water-plantain,
Alisma subcordatum
Three whitish petals & many ovaries in a circle on a flattened receptacle, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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Creeping Burhead,
Echinodorus cordifolius
Flowers on slender 1" pedicels, in whorls of 5-15 at widely-spaced nodes, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
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Grassleaf Arrowhead,
Sagittaria graminea
Flowers to 2.3 cm diameter; filaments shorter than anthers, per Flora of North America.
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Bunched Arrowhead,
Sagittaria fasciculata
Flowers usually in 2-4 whorls of 3, upper usually staminate, lower pistillate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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Quillwort Arrowhead,
Sagittaria isoetiformis
Flowers to 1.3 cm diameter; filaments shorter than anthers, per Flora of North America.
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Bulltongue Arrowhead,
Sagittaria lancifolia var. lancifolia
Flowers to 3.3 cm diameter; filaments longer than anthers, per Flora of North America.
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Scimitar Arrowhead,
Sagittaria lancifolia var. media
Upper flowers are staminate, per Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005).
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Scimitar Arrowhead,
Sagittaria lancifolia var. media
Leaves lanceolate to broadly ovate, emersed [rising out of the water], per Flora of North America.
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Scimitar Arrowhead,
Sagittaria lancifolia var. media
Flowers in whorls along the stem, the lower pistillate, per Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005).
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Broadleaf Arrowhead,
Sagittaria latifolia +
The leaves vary from broadly to very narrowly arrow-shaped, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
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Broadleaf Arrowhead,
Sagittaria latifolia +
Showy white flowers with 3 petals, the lower flowers usually female, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
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Brazilian Waterweed,
Egeria densa
Leaves mostly 2-3cm long, finely toothed w slender, weak teeth on the margins, per Weakley's Flora.
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American Eelgrass,
Vallisneria americana
Leaves straplike, elongate, linear, not differentiated into petiole and blade, per Weakley's Flora.
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American Frogsbit,
Limnobium spongia
Leaves long-stalked with floating or emergent blades, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
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Whorled Hydrilla,
Hydrilla verticillata ssp. verticillata
Stems and leaves near the surface look like bottle brushes, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).
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Wandering Hydrilla,
Hydrilla verticillata ssp. peregrina
Leaves toothed with stout, sharp teeth on the margins; fresh leaves noticeably rough to the touch, per Weakley's Flora (2025).
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Baldwin's Spikerush,
Eleocharis baldwinii
Often mat-forming, often stoloniferous, sometimes entirely vegetative, per Flora of North America.
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Golden Club,
Orontium aquaticum
Fresh leaves are unwettable, silvery glistening if forced under water, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
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Green Arrow-arum,
Peltandra virginica
Foliage suggests that of Sagittaria latifolia, but leaves pinnately veined, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
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Water Lettuce,
Pistia stratiotes
Leaves light green, thick, softly hairy, with distinct parallel ridges, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).
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Elephant's-ear,
Colocasia esculenta
Particularly a problem along waterways, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).
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Greater Duckweed,
Spirodela polyrhiza
Fronds obovate to circular, flat or rarely gibbous, 1-1.5x as long as wide, per Flora of North America.
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Small Duckweed,
Lemna spp.
The flattened, leaflike stems ("fronds") are light green, one root per frond, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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Watermeal,
Wolffia spp.
Wolffia's flattened, leaflike stems ("fronds") have no roots, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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Stream Bogmoss,
Mayaca fluviatilis
The very leafy creeping stems resemble a moss or clubmoss, hence the name, per Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011).
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Woolly Frogsmouth,
Philydrum lanuginosum
Flowers borne in the axils of spathe-like bracts, per Angiosperm Phylogeny Website.
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Woolly Frogsmouth,
Philydrum lanuginosum
Multiple yellow flowers borne on a simple (sometimes few-branched) spike, per Weed Risk Assessment for Philydrum lanuginosum (Philydraceae) - Woolly frogs mouth.
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Woolly Frogsmouth,
Philydrum lanuginosum
Habit (here one square meter contains about 14 clumps, some with 3-4 plants).
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Woolly Frogsmouth,
Philydrum lanuginosum
Flowers last only 1 day and are nectarless, scentless and self-pollinating, per Weed Risk Assessment for Philydrum lanuginosum (Philydraceae) - Woolly frogs mouth.
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Water-hyacinth,
Oshuna crassipes
Leaves spade-shaped and curled upward on sides. Roots feathery, floating, per Field Guide to Aquatic Plants of Alabama (Lovell, 2007).
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Heartleaf Pickerelweed,
Pontederia cordata var. cordata
Lvs mostly ovate to triangular-lanceolate, base generally cordate or truncate, per Weakley's Flora.
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Heartleaf Pickerelweed,
Pontederia cordata var. cordata
Inflorescence a dense terminal spike-like panicle, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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Lanceleaf Pickerelweed,
Pontederia cordata var. lancifolia
Leaves lanceolate, the base generally cuneate to truncate, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
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Rocky-shoals Spiderlily,
Hymenocallis coronaria
Petals & sepals [tepals] linear, spreading at nearly right angles to the tube, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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Rocky-shoals Spiderlily,
Hymenocallis coronaria
Leaves basal, linear, strap-like, surrounded at base by tubular sheaths, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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Water-spider Orchid,
Habenaria repens
The petals and lip resemble spider legs splayed against the plant's sepals, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
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Lizard's-tail,
Saururus cernuus
Similar to Fairywand's inflorescence, but not to its leaves or habitat, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
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Lizard's-tail,
Saururus cernuus
Perennial wetland herb that forms large colonies from underground rhizomes, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
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Water Smartweed,
Persicaria amphibia var. stipulacea
Its adaptations to differing water conditions make it quite variable, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
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Alligator-weed,
Alternanthera philoxeroides
Small, white, rounded cloverlike clusters of tiny flowers are 0.5-0.7" wide, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).
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Alligator-weed,
Alternanthera philoxeroides
Leaves somewhat succulent, obtuse to rounded at the tip, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
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Spatterdock,
Nuphar advena
Floating leaf blades 1-2x long as wide, the sinus > 1/4 as long as the midrib, per Weakley's Flora.
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Spatterdock,
Nuphar advena
Flowers w 5-6 large yellow sepals & numerous small petals resembling stamens, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
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Narrowleaf Pondlily,
Nuphar sagittifolia
Usually 6 petaloid sepals and numerous small inconspicuous petals, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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Narrowleaf Pondlily,
Nuphar sagittifolia
Floating leaf blades 3-6x as long as wide, per Weakley's Flora.
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Fragrant White Water-lily,
Nymphaea odorata ssp. odorata
Large, 5-12", rounded floating leaves green above and often purplish below, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
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Fragrant White Water-lily,
Nymphaea odorata ssp. odorata
Distinctive for its sweet-scented white showy flowers, per Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995).
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Tropical Blue Water-lily,
Nymphaea elegans
Leaves ovate to nearly orbiculate, margin entire to sinuate, surfaces glabrous, per Flora of North America.
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Yonkapin,
Nelumbo lutea
Perianth parts numerous, sepals grading into petals, stamens numerous, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999).
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Yonkapin,
Nelumbo lutea
Leaf blades peltate, usually raised above the water, obicular, to 70cm wide, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999).
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Sacred-lotus,
Nelumbo nucifera
Similar to N. lutea, but the petals are pink, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999).
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Fanwort,
Cabomba caroliniana
Submerged lvs dissected; floating lvs peltate(unlike Brasenia, no "jelly"), per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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Fanwort,
Cabomba caroliniana
Petals are white with a yellow base, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
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Water-shield,
Brasenia schreberi
Flowers solitary, reddish-brown, about 1" wide, held above water surface on red stems, per Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019).
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Water-shield,
Brasenia schreberi
Leaf blades all floating, peltate, elliptic, not notched, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999).
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Water-shield,
Brasenia schreberi
Bottom left flower functionally pistillate, center flower functionally staminate.
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Water-shield,
Brasenia schreberi
Stems, leaf stalks & leaf undersides coated with a gelatinous material, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
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Waterwheel-plant,
Aldrovanda vesiculosa
Leaf whorls 1-2cm in diam., bristles extending slightly beyond leaf blade, per Flora of China.
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Waterstar,
Callitriche heterophylla var. heterophylla
Floating & upper leaves spatulate or obovate; submersed or lower leaves linear, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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Showy Water-primrose,
Ludwigia grandiflora
Emergent leaves 5-8.5cm long, 7-11mm wide, mostly linear-lanceolate, usually widest below middle, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
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Common Water-primrose,
Ludwigia hexapetala
Ssp. hexapetala is understood to be larger flowered than ssp. grandiflora, per Observations on the Ludwigia uruguayensis Complex (Onagraceae) in the US (Nesom & Kartesz, 2000).
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Common Water-primrose,
Ludwigia hexapetala
Primary leaves usually narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate & widest above middle, per Weakley's Flora.
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Marsh Mermaid-weed,
Proserpinaca palustris
Flowers in leaf axils of emersed leaves, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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Parrot-feather,
Myriophyllum aquaticum
All leaves pectinate, feather-like; most leaves emersed, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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Loose Water-milfoil,
Myriophyllum laxum
Its reddish submersed stems can be confused with M. heterophyllum when sterile, per Weakley's Flora.
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Southern Water-milfoil,
Myriophyllum heterophyllum
Flowers/fruits (subtended by bracts) in erect spikes emersed from water, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
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Eurasian Water-milfoil,
Myriophyllum spicatum
All leaves whorled, grayish green. Midstem leaves with 12-25 segments on each side of rachis, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
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Eurasian Water-milfoil,
Myriophyllum spicatum
Flowers/fruits in erect spikes emersed from water, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
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Hemlock Water-parsnip,
Sium suave
Leaflets 7-17, finely toothed (vs. Oxypolis rigidior 5-9 and mostly entire, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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Little Floating Heart,
Nymphoides cordata
Leaves mottled green & purple above [vs. N. aquatica's entirely green above], per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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Little Floating Heart,
Nymphoides cordata
Similar to Nymphaea, but leaves much smaller and basal lobes more rounded, per Weakley's Flora.
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Big Floating Heart,
Nymphoides aquatica
Leaves entirely green above [vs. N. cordata's variegated with purple above], per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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Crested Floating Heart,
Nymphoides cristata
Floating stems with single leaves, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
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Crested Floating Heart,
Nymphoides cristata
Leaves more cordate, the basal lobes more rounded, than those of Nymphaea, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
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Crested Floating Heart,
Nymphoides cristata
Flowers white, adaxial petal surface bearing a ruffled crest down its length, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
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Yellow Floating Heart,
Nymphoides peltata
Flowers yellow, lobes spreading, 0.8-1" long, somewhat fringed below, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
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Yellow Floating Heart,
Nymphoides peltata
Leaves more cordate, the basal lobes more rounded, than those of Nymphaea, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
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Water-spinach,
Ipomoea aquatica
Flowers can be purple, pink or white with a purple center, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).
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Water-spinach,
Ipomoea aquatica
Can be a procumbent terrestrial in wetland areas or a floating aquatic, per www.invasive.org.
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Waterpod,
Hydrolea quadrivalvis
Flowers borne from leaf axils, some of which bear sharp spines, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
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Pool-sprite,
Gratiola amphiantha
Floating leaves about 1/4" long, oval, paired; submerged leaves in a rosette, per Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007).
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Pool-sprite,
Gratiola amphiantha
Flowers less than 1/4" long, with a short tube and 5 spreading lobes, per Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007).
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Tropical Water-hyssop,
Bacopa innominata
Leaves strongly clasping, mostly ovate. Corolla without a yellow throat, per Weakley's Flora.
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Blue Water-hyssop,
Bacopa caroliniana
Flowers bell-shaped with 5 lobes (the upper 2 joined for half their length), per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
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Blue Water-hyssop,
Bacopa caroliniana
Leaves w 3-7 palmate veins and a minty fragrance distinctive among aquatics, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
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Asian Marshweed,
Limnophila sessiliflora
Aerial leaf blades elliptic-lanceolate, glabrous, margin crenate to lobed, per Flora of China.
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Purple Bladderwort,
Utricularia purpurea
A free-floating carnivorous aquatic, flowers borne near top of 2-4" stems, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
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Swollen Bladderwort,
Utricularia inflata
Inflated stalk & rachis form a flotation device supporting flowering stalk, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
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Fibrous Bladderwort,
Utricularia striata
Upper corolla lip larger than the lower and obscurely 3-lobed, per Weakley's Flora.
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Flatstem Bladderwort,
Utricularia foliosa
Readily IDed because of large flattened stolons covered w gelatinous goo, per www.sarracenia.com/faq.html.
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Heartleaf Plantain,
Plantago cordata
Summer and winter leaves dimorphic, spring leaves showing a gradual transition between the two, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
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Buttonbush,
Cephalanthus occidentalis
A large coarse wetland shrub, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
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