Ohio Pond Management
Plant Identification: Submerged Plants

Submerged plants are usually rooted in the pond bottom with all, or nearly all, of the plant’s stems and leaves under water. They may have flowers that protrude from the water on short stems at certain times of the year. Examples of submerged plants are coontail, milfoil, and najas.

Water Milfoil (pictured right). There are several species of water milfoil in Ohio, but they are similar enough that for identification and control purposes in this manual, they are treated as one. Water milfoil is a hollow stemmed annual with leaves that are usually arranged in whorls of four. The leaves resemble feathers with delicate rays coming off of a mid-rib. A small flower stalk may project above the water in late summer. Water milfoil has the ability to grow in water up to about 10 feet, if the water is clear enough to allow sufficient light penetration.

Coontail (pictured left). Coontail is a submergent annual that is relatively unique in that it doesn’t grow attached to the bottom by a root system, but rather is freely adrift in the water. Its leaves are in whorls with each leaf having a distinct fork in it. Each leaf is also curved back toward the stem. This, and the whirling, gives each stem a bushy appearance, hence the name coontail.

Elodea. (pictured right) Elodea is a submerged plant that is more common to hard water ponds, especially in the northern part of the state. This is not as common and well distributed as milfoil, coontail, and the pondweeds. Elodea has wide, oval leaves, usually in groups of four, arranged in whorls around the stem. Spacing between whorls is more compact toward the end of the stem than at the base.

Chara. (pictured left) Chara is a form of algae that grows attached to the bottom, often covering large areas of the bottom with a layer several inches thick. It resembles najas, but has a more yellowgreen color. Leaf-like projections occur in whorls around the hollow stem, nearly the same distance apart. When crushed between the fingers, chara feels gritty and has a distinctive musky odor.


Najas. (pictured right) As with the water milfoils, there is more than one species of najas in Ohio. Najas identification and control, like the milfoils, are treated as one. Najas are opposite leaved, although they may sometimes have leaves in whorls of three. The leaves have small spines along their edges. Najas often grow in clumps on the bottom and can be quite fragile. They can be fairly difficult to control with herbicides unless the treatments are applied properly.

Pondweeds. “Pondweed” is not a generic name for any type of vegetation that grows in a pond. Rather, it is the most diverse group of aquatic vegetation in Ohio comprised of many of different plants. While these plants can be quite different, they have certain things in common that allow us to lump them together, and they also tend to respond to herbicides in the same manner. Pondweeds have their leaves arranged alternately along the stem. The leaves are parallel veined and tend to be much longer than they are wide. They grow rooted to the bottom, but can grow several feet high.

Curly Leaf Pondweed	Floating Leaf Pondweed	Sago Pondweed

Learn about aquatic vegetation control methods.