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Common Name: Canadian Pondweed

General Information

Elodea canadensis is a Perennial
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine..

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

N. America - Alaska to California east to Quebec and Virginia. Naturalized in Britain[].

Habitat

Waters, mostly calcareous, of lakes and rivers from sea level to 2000 metres in America[]. Slow-moving fresh water throughout most of Britain[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.00 m
Pollinators	Water
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A floating, submerged plant, growing well in slowly-moving water and also succeeding in ponds[]. Plants grow more vigorously when able to root into the mud of the pond[].
This species, when first introduced into British waterways in the mid nineteenth century, spread rapidly to become a great peat, blocking many waterways[]. It then seemed to lose its vigour and is now widespread but seldom abundant[].
Most of the plants grown in Britain are a female clone[].
Plants perennate by means of overwintering buds that sink to the bottom of the pond in the autumn and then commence growing in the spring.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

An infusion of the plant has been used as a strong emetic[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - seldom produced in Britain, if it is obtained it should not be allowed to dry out and is best sown immediately in water.
Division can be carried out at almost any time in the growing season. Simply break off a bit of plant and place in water - it will soon produce roots. The stem can be weighted with something like a stone and then thrown into a pond to allow the stems to root into the mud.