Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Caryophyllales > Amaranthaceae > Alternanthera > Alternanthera philoxeroidesAlternanthera philoxeroides (alligator weed; alligatorweed; pig weed; Xi han lian zi cao)Synonyms: Achyranthes aphylla; Achyranthes paludosa; Achyranthes philoxeroides (homotypic); Alternanthera aphylla; Alternanthera philoxerina; Alternanthera philoxeroides f. acutifolia; Alternanthera philoxeroides f. phyllantha; Alternanthera philoxeroides var. acutifolia (homotypic); Alternanthera philoxeroides var. obtusifolia (homotypic); Alternanthera philoxeroides var. phyllantha; Alternanthera philoxeroides var. platyphylla; Brandesia martiana (homotypic); Bucholzia philoxeroides (homotypic); Bucholzia philoxeroides obtusifolia; Bucholzia philoxeroides var. acutifolia; Bucholzia philoxeroides var. obtusifolia; Celosia amphibia (homotypic); Mogiphanes philorexoides; Mogiphanes philoxeroides; Telanthera philoxeroides; Telanthera philoxeroides var. acutifolia; Telanthera philoxeroides var. denticulata; Telanthera philoxeroides var. obtusifolia; Telanthera philoxeroides var. phyllantha Alternanthera philoxeroides, commonly known as alligator weed, is an emergent aquatic plant. It originated in Argentina in 1897, but has spread to many parts of the world and is considered an invasive species in Australia, China, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the United States. The alligator weed's primary mode of transport is believed to be through ballast tanks on the side of traveling ships. |
| Bloom Period [1] | Early Spring | | Drought Tolerance [1] | Low | | Fire Tolerance [1] | None | | Frost Free Days [1] | 6 months 20 days | | Fruit/Seed Begin [1] | Spring | | Fruit/Seed End [1] | Summer | | Growth Form [1] | Stoloniferous | | Growth Period [1] | Spring | | Growth Rate [1] | Rapid | | Leaf Type [2] | Evergreen | | Lifespan [1] | Perennial | | Propagation [1] | Sprig | | Regrowth Rate [1] | Slow | | Root Depth [1] | 10 inches (25 cm) | | Seed Spread Rate [1] | None | | Shape/Orientation [1] | Prostrate | | Structure [2] | Herb | | Vegetative Spread Rate [1] | Rapid |  | | Flower Color [1] | White | | Foliage Color [1] | Green | | | Height [1] | 3.937 inches (0.1 m) | | | Hardiness Zone Minimum [1] | USDA Zone: 6 Low Temperature: -10 F° (-23.3 C°) → 0 F° (-17.8 C°) | | Light Preference [1] | Mixed Sun/Shade | | Soil Acidity [1] | Neutral | | Soil Fertility [1] | Infertile | | Water Use [1] | High | | | Screening - Summer [1] | Porous | | Screening - Winter [1] | Porous |
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| Name |
IUCN Category |
Area acres |
Location |
Species |
Website |
Climate |
Land Use |
|
Canaveral National Seashore |
II |
9090 |
Florida, United States |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Carolinian-South Atlantic Biosphere Reserve |
|
310228 |
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Central Gulf Coastal Plain Biosphere Reserve |
|
40530 |
United States |
|
|
|
|
|
De Soto National Wildlife Refuge |
IV |
8007 |
Iowa, Nebraska, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Defensores del Chaco National Park |
II |
1792493 |
Paraguay |
|
|
|
|
|
El Palmar National Park |
II |
|
Entre Rios, Argentina |
|
|
|
|
|
Everglades and Dry Tortugas Biosphere Reserve |
|
|
Florida, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Gulf Island National Seashore |
II |
67487 |
Florida, Mississippi, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Hobcaw Barony (North Inlet) National Estuarine Research Reserve |
|
7585 |
South Carolina, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge |
VI |
28351 |
Louisiana, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Reserva de Biosfera del Chaco |
|
|
Paraguay |
|
|
|
|
|
Reserva Natural Otamendi Strict Nature Reserve |
Ia |
|
Buenos Aires, Argentina |
|
|
|
|
|
Río Pilcomayo National Park |
II |
123699 |
Formosa, Argentina |
|
|
|
|
|
Santee Coastal Reserve and Washo Reserve State Habitat Area |
IV |
20850 |
South Carolina, United States |
|
|
|
|
Attributes / relations provided by ♦ 1USDA Plants Database, U. S. Department of Agriculture ♦ 2Kattge, J. et al. (2011b) TRY - a global database of plant traits Global Change Biology 17:2905-2935 ♦ 3Agasicles hygrophila Selman and Vogt (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Halticinae), Ted D. Center, USDA-ARS Invasive Plant Research Laboratory; James P. Cuda, University of Florida; Michael J. Grodowitz, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, September 2009. Latest revision: November 2015 ♦ 4Amynothrips andersoni O'Neill (Insecta: Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae), Ted D. Center (retired), USDA-ARS Invasive Plant Research Laboratory; James P. Cuda, University of Florida, Entomology and Nematology Department; Michael J. Grodowitz, US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, June 2010. Last Revision: April 2013 ♦ 5HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni AND Luis M. Hernández Ecoregions provided by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). WildFinder: Online database of species distributions, ver. 01.06 Wildfinder Database |
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0
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