Hydrilla spread across 70% of Florida watersheds within 40 years

Representative Image of hydrilla overtaking a Florida waterway, displacing native plants and disrupting wildlife and recreational activities (AI-generated image) An aquatic plant imported for home aquariums became a major management problem in Florida after it entered the state’s freshwater systems in the 1950s. Hydrilla, a submerged plant native to parts of Asia, can grow rapidly, form dense mats near the water’s surface and spread through fragments carried between water bodies. Within about 40 years of its introduction, the plant had established populations in more than 70% of Florida’s watersheds, according to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) guide, Hydrilla Integrated Management. The US Geological Survey (USGS) records Florida’s first observation in 1952 and says the plant is now established in 28 US states, as well as Guam and Puerto Rico. Its spread has complicated boating, threatened native aquatic vegetation and created a costly, ongoing challenge for waterway managers.How hydrilla spread across Florida after arriving as an aquarium plantThe UF/IFAS guide says the female, or dioecious, form of hydrilla reached Florida from As...