The fluffy blue-green foliage of this emergent perennial aquatic plant resembles parrot feathers to some and miniature fir trees to others so whichever your fancy, this plant may delight. To further its interest, it has both male and female flowers but in different locations on the same plant , so provides a tidy little lesson on plant reproduction. But that is if you live in the Amazon area where it is native and produces flowers of both genders. Here in the US, the plants only produce female fowers making sexual reproduction difficult if not impossible. Resourceful plant that it is, it can reproduce by fragmentation and does so well enough to have become invasive in some areas especially the South. Still, it is an attractive plant for fresh water ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, and canals as well as water gardens.
Type: Emergent aquatic perennial
Size: 5+’ length
Bloom Color: Pinkish white
Bloom Time: Summer
Light: Full sun
Soil: Slow moving, high nutrient content fresh water
Hardiness: Zones 6-10
Photo Credit Wikipedia Commons
Karen Meyers