Myriophyllum alpinum Orchard APNI*
Description: Perennial aquatic herb; stems 1–2 mm diam., rooting freely at the lower nodes.
Emergent leaves usually crowded at the apex, reddish, in whorls of 3 or 4, ovate and deeply pinnatifid into 6–9 segments, c. 5 mm long, 3–5 mm wide or linear to lanceolate and toothed, c. 35 mm long and 1 mm wide.
Plants monoecious; male and female flowers on the same shoot, solitary in the axils. Male flowers ± sessile; sepals triangular to ovate; petals 3–3.5 mm long, red to yellow. Female flowers sessile; sepals and petals absent; stigmas white. Mericarps ovoid, up to 1 mm long, reddish purple, sparsely papillose.
Distribution and occurrence: in high-altitude lakes and streams; forms densely interwoven masses in relatively deep water.
NSW subdivisions: NC, NT, CT, ST
Other Australian states: Vic.
Text by Peter G. Wilson Taxon concept: A.E. Orchard (1990)
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