| Author | Bigelow | |
| Distribution | Middle and outer Coastal Plain. Two disjunct occurrences: White Lake in Bladen County and Lake Phelps in Washington/Tyrrell counties -- discovered in 1980 and 1988, respectively. May occur in other large natural lakes.
Newf. to MN, south to NJ and PA; disjunct to NC. | |
| Abundance | Very rare, known from just two sites. Populations may be abundant at times, as numerous plants have washed up on shores. It is a State Endangered species. | |
| Habitat | Freshwater natural lakes. The Lake Phelps plants were found totally submerged in 3 feet of water; thus, plants can be easily overlooked. |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting July-October. | |
| Identification | Slender Water-milfoil grows as erect shoots from horizontal stems just beneath the soil surface. Shoots grow 3-12 inches tall and lack feathery leaves (reduced to tiny scales); the upper portion of the shoot has tiny bracts and single flowers in their axils. Plants may extend above the surface when water levels are very low. No other water-milfoil looks like it. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | None
| |
| Other Common Name(s) | Leafless Water-milfoil | |
| State Rank | S1 | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
| State Status | E | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | OBL link |
| USACE-emp | OBL link |
