Archman....what kind of grass is this?

[Dee]

We've got alot of this kind of stuff in Twin Lakes. We've been calling it bubble grass but I know that's not right!

Also, this one....

The 'bubble grass' grows to right below the first thermocline around 22ft. The second one is found mostly in the shallows down to about 15ft.

And this one....

We've seen this stuff be 20+ft tall. This photo isn't that great for identifying purposes, it was taken from the surface. It's like a forest! By about the end of June, this grass has fallen over flat to the bottom and eventually dies out by the time the water is in the high 80's.

Thanks!

 

[archman]

Oh wow, someone's flashing my Bat Signal! :dazzler1:

First off, this should be bumped over to the marine life or swamp divers forum. There's the oddball chance other folks may actually chime in.
Second, I'm a marine biologist with only a "fetish" for freshwater habitats. This makes me hazy on a bunch of junk. Any decent field botanist would clobber me senseless. Bridget at Aquarena probably knows this stuff better than me. But they're not here, tough luck.

#1 "bubble grass" is something I've never seen before, but looks and "behaves" like bladderworts (Utricularia). They have little tiny floats and complex radiating whorls. They also need to be pretty stinking shallow (the flower is above the waterline).
http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/utripic.html

#2 looks like the good 'ol coontail (Ceratophyllum) found all over creation. Often confused and mixed with that icky hydrilla.
http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/cedepic.html

#3 pondweed (Potamogeton). I love this stuff. Lots of different species that all look alike. Many are endangered. There's also my personal favorite, widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima) that likes warm, vaguely brackish water.
http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/poilpic.html

This was fun! Thanks for showing off the photos Dee; I get so sick of seeing shark and reef fish photos; plants are totally underrated.

 

[Dee]

I suppose I can move it to Swampland. I thought about Marine Life but it's freshwater and I think of marine anything as salt water...may be wrong about that!

1. From the link, I don't think it's bladderwort of any kind. In 2+ years I've never seen any flowers on it and it's has roots.

2. From the link, this isn't coontail. It definately has roots, is not free floating, and is not as densely 'plumed' as coontail. I've got coontail in my fish pond and this isn't the same stuff.

3. From the link, it's closest to sago pondweed but not exactly.

Thanks but I guess I'll keep looking!

 

[Phazeshyft]

I think i have it identified one of them.
your third one seems to be Southern Naiad (Najas guadalupensis (Sprengel) Magnus)

thats the only one i am remotly convinced of. but im not a biologist.

 

[archman]

2. From the link, this isn't coontail. It definately has roots, is not free floating, and is not as densely 'plumed' as coontail. I've got coontail in my fish pond and this isn't the same stuff.

The online description is wrong. Coontail is not like sargassum, but roots down and grows just like hydrilla. Most only free float when people kick it up. And don't use density of nodes as a diagnostic indicator; older plants space 'em out quite a bit (just like pothos ivy). Often only the fresh and more terminal growths have that "plumed look"
Here's a better link.
http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/ceyde.htm

3. From the link, it's closest to sago pondweed but not exactly.

To properly identify the majority of Potamogeton species you need to put it under a scope and see the flowers. Oh yeah and you need a botanist. Three species it COULD be are Ruppia maritima, Stuckenia pectinatus, and Zannichelia palustris.

I don't buy it being Najas; the leaves on this genus are flat and strap-like, as opposed to the terete-looking things in the photo. That's characteristic of the pondweed clade.