Hydrilla (Noun)
Meaning
Submersed plant with whorled lanceolate leaves and solitary axillary flowers; Old World plant naturalized in southern United States and clogging Florida's waterways.
Classification
Nouns denoting plants.
Examples
- The invasive underwater plant hydilla has taken over much of the lake, choking out native species and hindering boat traffic.
- Hydrilla's whorled leaves and stems form dense mats that block sunlight and prevent fish and other aquatic creatures from thriving.
- In the 1960s, someone intentionally introduced hydrilla into the United States as a possible food source for aquatic animals, but the plant quickly got out of control.
- Professional divers are needed to manually remove the hydrilla from the lake's floor and surrounding areas, a labor-intensive and costly process.
- Researchers have been studying the potential uses of hydrilla as a biofuel, hoping to find a silver lining in the destruction caused by this invasive plant.