Parrot's Feather | Pond Aeration | Malibu Water Resources Directory 2 |
July 2002
Hello Malibu Water Resources
Thank you for the information on Parrot's Feather. What we do know about it is that it likes sun. It grows poorly in deep shade. Most of our parrot's feather is in the creek leading away from the pond. We might try rechanneling the creek to dry the current channel then tarp or cover the area somehow to cut out the sunlight. This stuff is nasty! Our pond covers about 4 acres and is shallow, about 3 to 4 feet deep. Mary Lambert | pindar@volcano.net |
Parrot's Feather
See Images of Perrot's Feather |
See: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/sav/key/parrot_final.html |
Parrot's Feather: a pretty aquatic from South America can cover a large pond within a year
Myriophyllum aquatica | Parrot's Feather
Soft textured trailing stems will spread from this plant. Invasive.
No sales to AL, ME, NH, NH, NV, VT, WA
See: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/weeds/aqua003.html |
Biocontrol PotentialsParrot feather has a high tannin content, so most grazers, including grass carp, find it unpalatable. Grass carp also prefer soft plants, like Elodea canadensis and the tough, woody parrot feather stems are not preferred.
While biological control agents are not presently available, potential agents do exist. A complex of insects feed on parrot feather in its native habitat. Lysathia flavipes (Boheman), a flea beetle found on parrot feather in Argentina, causes moderate damage to parrot feather under field conditions. Also found in Argentina is a weevil, Listronotus marginicollis (Hustache), that apparently feeds only on parrot feather in its native range.
Additional insects have been found on parrot feather in Florida. Lysathia ludoviciana (Fall.), a flea beetle native to the southern U.S. and Caribbean, will use parrot feather as a host plant for larvae under laboratory conditions. However, the flea beetle is not often found on parrot feather in the field.
Two members of the tortricidae family, Argyrotaenia ivana (Fernald) and Choristoneura parallela (Robison) have also been found on parrot feather in Florida, but their effect on the plant is unknown. In addition, larvae of the caterpillar, Parapoynx allionealis (Walker), mine parrot feather leaves, but the impact these larvae could have on parrot feather is also unknown.
Fungal control options exist, as well. An isolate of Pythium carolinianum Matt. collected in California has shown some promise as a potential biocontrol agent. Parrot feather stems that were experimentally inoculated with this fungus produced significantly less growth than control plants.
See: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/7025/parrots_feather.html |
Plant species introduced from overseas (alien plants) are common in British gardens. Many of the valued plants in the average garden have their origins beyond our shores since they bring colour, shape and stature to gardens. Unfortunately, some of these impressive plants have made a home over the garden fence, and yesterday's introduced garden plants such as Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica) and Parrot's Feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum) are today major threats to Britain's native species and ecosystems. Costs of control run to millions of pounds annually.
CA Weed Research: http://wric.ucdavis.edu/ | links |
Information: http://wric.ucdavis.edu/information/information.html |
California: http://wric.ucdavis.edu/information/aquatic/califaquaticweeds.htm |
See: http://www.wye.ic.ac.uk/PressReleases/chelsea02/1.html |
See: http://www.vnps.org/invasive/invfsmyaq.htm |
Description
Parrot's feather, a member of the water-milfoil family (Halo-ragaceae), is a herbaceous aquatic perennial that gets its name from the feather-like appearance of its gray-green leaves.The leaves are arranged around the stem in whorls of four to six, and may be submerged or emergent.
Stiff, bright green, emergent leaves are 1 to 2 inches long with 10 to 18 segments per leaf. The stem and leaves can grow up to a foot above the water surface, giving the appearance of small fir trees. The submerged leaves are limp, but the stems are stiff and very vigorous. When attached to a bank, the plant can extend several yards across the water. Male and female flowers are on different plants, but only the female plants have been found in North America. Besides parrot's feather and another non-native, Eurasian water-milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum), eight native species of Myriophyllum are found in eastern North America.
Consult a botanist to confirm identification before initiating any control measures.
Habitat
Parrot's feather is a native of the Amazon River and was introduced to North America in the Washington, D.C., area around 1890. However, since its introduction, the plant has spread throughout the southern United States and northward along both coasts. It appears to prefer warmer, milder climates and has spread quickly via plant fragments through waterways and drainage systems and intentional plantings.Threats
Because of its appearance and ease of cultivation, parrot's feather has been used extensively in both indoor and outdoor aquaria and as a popular water garden plant. It has escaped cultivation, however, and while parrot's feather may provide cover for some aquatic organisms, it can seriously change the physical characteristics of lakes and streams. The shade from dense infestations can alter aquatic ecosystems, and the thick growth can clog irrigation and drainage canals.Many municipalities are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to control parrot's feather.
Flooding, drainage and irrigation problems, and increased mosquito populations are all legacies of this single aquatic plant. Yet it continues to be a challenge to persuade garden centers to remove it from their inventories.
Control
Because parrot's feather spreads rapidly through fragmentation of plant parts, using mechanical controls such as cutting and underwater rototilling will tend to enhance its rate of spread.Although it is considered by some to be susceptible to herbicides, achieving complete control is difficult. The emergent stems and leaves have a waxy cuticle that requires a surfactant for penetration. Surfactants, however, are harmful to most aquatic organisms. Use herbicides approved for use in wetlands and follow the label directions. One nursery owner killed a severe infestation in his irrigation pond by drawing down the pond in winter and freezing the plant out, apparently completely eradicating it.
Control | South Africa
See: http://www.ru.ac.za/academic/departments/zooento/Martin/waterweeds.html |
Traditionally the control of water weeds has fallen into one of three broad categories:-- mechanical controlMore recently the emphasis has moved to an integration of the three methods.
-- herbicide control
-- biological control
Biological Control.
While mechanical and herbicide control are viewed as the short-term or immediate control options, biological control is viewed as the long-term or sustainable control option for aquatic weeds. Natural enemies or biological control agents have been released on all five of the aquatic weeds occurring in the water ways of the South Africa and considerable success has been achieved in reducing the threat posed by these plants.
Natural enemies of aquatic weeds
See: http://www.ru.ac.za/academic/departments/zooento/Martin/waterweeds.html#enemies |
Parrot's Feather Myriophyllum aquaticum (Vell.) Verdc. (Haloragaceae)
1. Lysathia sp. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
Parrots feather is capable of totally choking water ways, excluding all other flora and fauna.
See: http://www.weeds.asn.au/weeds/weeds_fr.htm |
See: http://www.northcoast.com/~cnps/iwhc/iwhcb1.htm#myaq |
Description: This species has been sold for use in aquariums, although its sale is now illegal in some states. It has a feathery foliage that can extend up to a foot above the water surface. What it does: Only female plants are present in our country so no seeds are produced, but plants spread aggressively vegetatively. Parrot's feather forms dense mats of vegetation that can cover the surface of shallow lakes. Its tough stems then make it difficult to boat, swim, or fish. It provides ideal habitat for mosquito larvae.
How to get rid of it: If you have this in your garden pond, remove it (but be sure you don't dispose of it in any way that it can get into a natural water body).
Plant Restrictions
See: http://www.watertropicals.com/?http://www.watertropicals.com/plant_restrict.htm |
EPRI : http://www.epri.com/ |
EPRI Journal: http://www.epri.com/journal/ |
Clean Streams
feather
See:
| http://www.epri.com/corporate/discover_epri/news/2002releases/052002_CleanStreams.html |
News ReleasesEPRI Puts Plants to Work Cleaning Waste Streams
Palo Alto, Calif. - May 20, 2002 - Some plants naturally absorb and accumulate trace metals such as chromium, selenium, nickel, mercury, lead, copper, and arsenic. In a process known as phytoremediation, scientists are harnessing the plants' ability to remove these substances to help cleanse contaminated soils and water. A recent project, directed by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), has measured the capacity of various plants for removing toxic substances from polluted water.
Because plants differ in the extent to which they can accumulate the different elements, judicious selection of appropriate plants can greatly enhance the removal of the desired substance. Selection is based on the type of substance to be removed, the geographic location, environmental conditions, and the known capabilities of the species. Therefore it is important to understand the capabilities of the specific plants under varying conditions.
In the EPRI-directed study, researchers collected plant species from wetlands and nurseries, grew them hydroponically (in liquid nutrients but no soil), and identified the plant species that removed the most toxic substances without harming themselves.
Some of the findings were that
Water hyacinth, duckweed, brass buttons, cattail, saltmarsh bulrush, parrot's feather, iris-leaved rush, and smartweed were excellent candidates for remediating wastewater contaminated with trace elements such as manganese, cadmium, copper, nickel, chromium, lead, mercury, boron, arsenic, and selenium. Of the 12 plants tested, smartweed proved the most effective.
Water hyacinth, an aquatic floating plant that is easily harvested, most efficiently accumulated cadmium and chromium. Brass buttons, a wetland plant, also proved an excellent choice for the remediation of chromium-contaminated water.
Of the 20 aquatic plant species screened, saltmarsh bulrush, parrot's feather, and iris-leaved rush were identified as the best candidates for removing selenium.
John Goodrich-Mahoney, manager in EPRI's water and ecosystems research program, explains, "The use of hydroponics enabled the investigators to directly compare different plant species under fixed conditions. Plant species that were highly efficient in removing specific trace elements under controlled environmental conditions will likely prove effective for trace element removal under field conditions."
Conventional chemical treatment techniques for metal-bearing industrial discharges are resource-intensive, requiring chemical additives, human supervision, and regular maintenance. Hazardous by-products, like chemical sludges, can be generated, resulting in potentially high disposal costs. And these systems may not even be able to reduce contaminant concentrations to the levels called for by water quality criteria. "Passive treatment systems containing specially selected plants, by contrast, require significantly less management, says Goodrich-Mahoney. "They eliminate the transport of treatment chemicals on the highways, there are no undesirable by-products, and the fuel and manpower requirements are absolutely minimal."
EPRI is directing a comprehensive program to develop design and engineering guidelines for remediating metal-containing industrial waste streams using plants. The program includes demonstration projects, such as the Allegheny Power's award-winning Springdale constructed-wetland installation, field and laboratory research to increase understanding of treatment processes, and experimental work to accelerate or otherwise enhance removal of individual chemicals. Though EPRI's tests to-date have focused on power plant effluents, the technology could potentially have applicability for metal-bearing streams from other sources.
Says Goodrich-Mahoney, "EPRI's program is introducing new dimensions to passive treatment technology. Efforts to optimize these processes are on the leading edge of microbiology, plant physiology, genetic engineering, and other disciplines."
The future of this work will involve genetic engineering to develop enhanced plants for phytoremediation. Genetically-engineered plants will have greater capacity to absorb metals and can also survive in waters or soil that are highly contaminated.
EPRI, headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., was established in 1973 as a non-profit center for public interest energy and environmental research. EPRI's collaborative science and technology development program now spans nearly every area of power generation, delivery and use. More than 1,000 energy organizations and public institutions in 40 countries draw on EPRI's global network of technical and business expertise.
Aquatic Plant Images: http://home.swbell.net/collardm/plants.htm |
Aquatic Plants: http://www.tytyga.com/perrenials/aquatics/aquadir.htm |
Oxygenating Plants: http://www.tytyga.com/perrenials/aquatics/oxygen/oxydir.htm |
