Hunting for Hydrilla

If the aquatic plant Hydrilla verticillata comes to Michigan, it could overwhelm waterways here as it has in other states after only a few growing seasons.

We hope to stop it as soon as it is discovered, but scientists cannot check all the places it might take hold. You can help!

Please look for this plant in local lakes, ponds and streams during the summer and fall. If you find hydrilla, please follow these steps carefully:

1. Collect 5 or 6 inches of the plant.
   
2. Compare your plant's features with the drawings on the right. The exotic plant hydrilla is most often confused with the native plant Elodea.
   
3. Shake the water off your specimen. Moisten a paper towel with two tablespoons of rubbing alcohol. Place your specimen and paper towel into a sealable plastic bag.
   
4. Mail the specimen along with an index card filled out with your name, phone number during business hours, e-mail, location of found specimen, county and the nearest crossroads to:

Hydrilla Hunt
Michigan Sea Grant
Michigan State University
334 Natural Resources
East Lansing, MI 48824

You will be contacted within a few weeks, if lab analysis confirms it is hydrilla.

For a fact sheet on hydrilla, see http://special.newsroom.msu.edu/hydrilla/hydrillafacts.pdf*

For more information, visit www.miseagrant.umich.edu/ans

* Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view this document.