Common name:
Spiked water-milfoil
Family:
Scientific name:
Myriophyllum spicatum
Main flower color:
Range:
Scotland, Wales, west and south England, and west Ireland
Height:
A few cm; stems are submerged, with just the flower spikes above the water
Habitat:
Fresh water, still or slow-moving, often slightly acidic
Flowers:
Whorled, red in bud, pale green when open, subtended by a small green bract; arranged in a short, elongated cluster at the top of a leafless stalk. Upper flowers are staminate, lower flowers pistillate
Leaves:
In whorls of four (less often three), pinnately divided into up to 41 thread-like segments. Segments are equal to or slightly longer than the distance between adjacent nodes
Season:
June to September
Rarity:
★★★★★