Milfoil - What Is It?

Back to milfoil main page

What Is Milfoil?

"Milfoil" is the name of a group of plants (genus Myriophyllum) that live in the water*. Some of the plants in this genus are native to Maine, and are no problem for us. The ones we're concerned with here are the invasive milfoils that have been brought to Maine from other places. These include variable water-milfoil, Eurasian water-milfoil, and hybrid variable water-milfoil.

Where these plants originated, they lived in environments where there were natural controls on their growth - insects, fish, competitive plants, diseases - which kept their growth in check. When they are introduced to Maine, they find an environment in which none of these natural controls is present, and they are able to grow unchecked.

Because of their vigorous growth in this environment, they are able to take over the territory from native waterplants and choke the waterways with their lush foliage.

* Some milfoils have a form that can live on dry land for several years, so they can survive occasional seasons of low water.

What is milfoil?

But we've had it forever?

How did it get here?

So, what's the problem?

Where is milfoil now?

How do we fix it?

What can I do?

Is milfoil the only problem?

What does the future hold?