Alternanthera Philoxeroides (Noun)
Meaning
Prolific South American aquatic weed having grasslike leaves and short spikes of white flowers; clogs waterways with dense floating masses.
Classification
Nouns denoting plants.
Examples
- Alternanthera_philoxeroides has infested many waterways in the southeastern United States, completely clogging certain areas of rivers and lakes.
- Alternanthera_philoxeroides was first detected in the United States in 1972 in Mobile, Ala.
- Alternanthera_philoxeroides plants can form tight, impenetrable mats of vegetation on the water's surface, which can shade out other aquatic vegetation and alter aquatic ecosystems.
- Controlling Alternanthera_philoxeroides can be tricky because the weed can produce up to 700,000 seeds per plant and can grow back from tiny fragments left behind in the soil.
- Researchers experimenting with the eradication of Alternanthera_philoxeroides found that introducing tiny insects that feed on it were a viable solution in slowly preventing its spread.