Najas minor

Brittle waternymph
Brittle naiad; note highly divided terminal heads
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Hydrocharitaceae
Genus: Najas
Species:
N. minor
Binomial name
Najas minor
Synonyms
  • Caulinia fragilis Willd.
  • Caulinia minor (All.) Coss. & Germ.
  • Fluvialis minor (All.) Pers.
  • Ittnera minor (All.) C.C.Gmel.
  • Najas dichotoma Roxb.
  • Najas fragilis (Willd.) Delile
  • Najas minor var. intermedia Ces.
  • Najas minor var. longifolia R.Corti
  • Najas minor var. spinosa Rendle
  • Najas moshanensis N.Z.Wang
  • Najas subulata Thuill.
  • Najas ternata Roxb. ex Griff.

Najas minor, known as brittle naiad or brittle waternymph, is an annual aquatic plant, a submersed herb. It is native to Europe, Asia and North Africa from the Netherlands to Morocco east to Japan and the Philippines, including China, Siberia, Central Asia, Iran, Turkey, Ukraine, Germany, France Italy and a host of other countries. It is now introduced to North America and considered a weedy invasive species in the eastern half of the United States from Florida to Oklahoma to New Hampshire to Ontario to South Dakota. This plant prefers calm waters, such as ponds, reservoirs, and lakes, and is capable of growing in depths up to 4 meters.