Alligatorweed
Other Common Names:
(Alternanthera philoxeroides)
Non-Native
Alligatorweed grows close to the ground with reddish stems and sword shaped green leaves.
Management Options
Click here for more information on how to control alligatorweed.
Description
Reddish brown stems can be simple or branching, one to three and a quarter inches long. The stems form thick mats as they lay along the ground and curve upward. Leaves are opposite each other and can be sword shaped or oval shaped; they are thinner and immobile at the base. Smooth, thick, fleshy leaves grow three quarters of an inch to four and a quarter inches long and two-tenths of an inch to three-fourths of an inch wide. Sweet scented flowers have many white or silvery petals that form a roundish shape. The petals are narrow and about two-tenths of an inch long.
Location
Alligatorweed can be found in California, Illinois, and the southeastern United States from Texas to Virginia and Florida.
Propagation
stem fragments, roots
Management Options
Click here for more information on how to control alligatorweed.