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Hydrilla is a plant found in freshwater.  The Hydrilla will grow to the waters surface from a depth of up to 20 feet. This is a very familiar flora because it can almost grow in any freshwaters such as springs, rivers, fenland, ditches, and lakes.  This water flora can prosper in water that is very shallow or up to 20 feet deep. This flora can grow in oligotrophic (low nutrient) to eutrophic (high nutrient) conditions in water.  

The Hydrilla is suited to more mild climates as it will only tolerate temperatures between 20 C and 27 C.  The Hydrilla has abundant branches that spread out upon getting to the surface, making mats.   The Hydrilla can have underwater stems that reach up to 25 feet in length.  Rhizomes, another name for the roots, are off-white to yellow in color.  The Hydrilla has a number of alternatives when it comes time to procreate. Fragmentation, from seeds, from tuber, and turions (auxiliary buds) are ways how this pest reproduces.

When likened with other plants the Hydrilla has a number of advantages.   Only one percent sunshine is need for the Hydrilla to grow. These plants also take up the rich foods from its place so that the other native sources can’t get it. Hydrillas grow quickly, contending with native floras, and are thus considered a pestilent pest.  Hydrilla is especially dangerous because it can almost entirely take over a body of water before appearing on the surface. When it covers a big area, all the marine floras that fall under it die due to the lack of sunshine or nutrition. When Hydrilla encompasses a large area, all the other marine plants fail because the do not receive enough sunlight or nutrients.

Each year, millions are spent on weed killers and harvesting all in an campaign to check the growth and spread of Hydrilla.  Since it harms the flora around it, individuals can’t even fish around areas these grow.  Hydrilla slows down the water flow and totally clogs irrigation and flood-control ducts.  Swimming, yachting, and angling all are seriously affected by it. When a lot of Hydrilla grows together, it can totally take down that areas water oxygen level.

Elodea and Egeria are ofttimes mixed up for Hydrilla. The aquatic plants Elodea and Egeria are ofttimes thought to be Hydrilla.  In the case of a Hydrilla, there is one or more teeth located at the bottom of the midrib.  Elodea and Egeria do not have teeth present on their undersides. Neither Elodea nor Egeria has teeth on their underside. Due to these teeth, we feel the roughness of these plants when we rub over from its base to the tip. The flowers the Egeria produce are also larger than the Hydrilla.  

Hydrilla is eaten by macro and micro invertebrates.  When they die and break up they turn into food for species like ducks, fish, amphibians, reptiles and other wildlife species.   When Hydrilla dies naturally, they are rotted by bacteria and fungi and the end result is “detritus” a food for several aquatic invertebrates. Many ducks consume Hydrilla turions and tubers, but it is not believed a fine wildlife feed.