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Photographer: Paul Skawinski
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Family Ceratophyllaceae
Ceratophyllum echinatum A.Gray
prickly hornwort, spiny hornwort
Ceratophyllum: from the Greek keras, "a horn," and phyllon, "leaf," alluding to the stiff and narrow leaf divisions, this is a genus often called hornwort
echinatum: echinus for "sea-urchin, hedgehog;" hence "spiny"
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| Status: | Native |
| Plant: | perennial, submerged aquatic, evergreen; stems long, trailing; lacks true roots, may anchor in sediment by modified leaves |
| Flower: | tiny, male and female flowers, in leaf axils, on separate plants |
| Fruit: | dry seed with several spines and a rough surface |
| Leaf: | whorled, stiff, 5-12 per node, forks 3-4 times, edges toothless but with some spines, whorls mostly evenly spaced on stem |
| Habitat: | water to >7' deep |
| (Glossary) |
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