WAUKEGAN, Ill., May 13 (UPI) -- Biologists in northeastern Illinois are concerned about an invasive water plant from Brazil, one they found growing under a layer of ice.
Brazilian elodea, often used as a decorative plant in aquariums, has become a major pest in the southern United States. The plant creates thick mats that hamper boats and can keep fish from migrating.
In the north, cold winter weather usually keeps the plant at bay. But Mike Adam, a senior biologist with the Lake County Health Department, told The (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald he found it in January under more than a foot of ice and snow.
"It was very bright green and growing very nicely," Adam said. "It's an exotic species that's rarely shown to survive the cold winters. That was a bit alarming."
So far, Brazilian elodea has only been found in two small ponds belonging to the town of Libertyville, and biologists are eradicating it.
The health department urges local aquarium owners to put unwanted water plants in the trash and not in local waterways.
