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Hydrocharitaceae family

Schweinitz's Waterweed Elodea schweinitzii

Native

Schweinitz's Waterweed is a perennial wildflower native to the lower 48 states.

More about this plant

Elodea schweinitzii, commonly known as Schweinitz's waterweed, is a possibly extinct species of aquatic plant endemic to New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The holotype was collected by Lewis David de Schweinitz, but was given no locality data. Schweinitz, however, collected other specimens from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, some or all of which were likely isotypes. Elodea schweinitzii has not been recorded from Pennsylvania since Schweinitz's last collection made in 1832. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 7 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
Rain garden / bioswale — Rated OBL on the wetland list — tolerates wet feet, so it suits the soggy zone of a rain garden or bioswale that catches and filters runoff.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts Documented caterpillar host

Recorded feeding on Elodea in North America, including:

Acentria nivea · snout moth
Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Sources for this entry (11) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Wetland indicator — USACE National Wetland Plant List (2022)
[07] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[08] Ecological value — GloBI
[09] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[10] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[11] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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