Hydrilla is an aquatic plant that has earned the title of the “world’s worst invasive aquatic plant.” It is listed as a federal noxious weed and can rapidly infest rivers, streams, lakes and ponds. It can spread at an alarming rate.

The plant was introduced to the United States when a Florida West Coast aquarium dealer shipped live Hydrilla from Sri Lanka under the common name “Indian star-vine.” These plants were considered unsatisfactory and were dumped into a canal near Tampa Bay, where they flourished. By 1955, the plants found their way from Tampa to Miami as they were transported for cultivation and pet trade sale. It is believed that several undocumented cases of accidental or careless releases followed, as there was extensive spread of Hydrilla throughout Florida and the southeastern States and then to Connecticut. Hydrilla populations have caused economic, environmental and ecological damage. It is an aggressive and competitive plant, out-competing native pondweeds.

Hydrilla (hydrilla verticillata) was first identified in the Connecticut River in 2016 in Glastonbury, CT. Three years later, 2019 and 2020, the Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station (CAES) surveyed the Connecticut River from Agawam, MA to the Long Island Sound, reporting at least 774 acres of hydrilla.

When you use your boat, trailer, kayak, canoe or paddle board it is IMPERATIVE that you clean, drain and dry your water vessel away from bodies of water to prevent carrying aquatic weeds between those water bodies. Hydrilla spreads by fragmentation, and can easily be moved to new waters by hitching a ride on unsuspecting water vessels.