Coontail
Ceratophyllum demersum
Coontail floats in dense masses just beneath the water's surface. (Photo courtesy Patricia Simpson/iNaturalist CC BY-NC)
(Photo courtesy rouwenhorst1/iNaturalist CC BY-NC)
Coontail has stiff, forked leaves with fine teeth along one edge. (Photo courtesy Daniel Cahen/iNaturalist CC BY-NC)
(Photo courtesy Cassi Saari/iNaturalist CC BY-NC)
(Photo courtesy Joe Walewski/iNaturalist CC BY-NC)
Coontail has stiff, forked leaves that keep their shape when taken out of water. (Photo by Matt Rath/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Coontail is a bushy-looking bay grass with whorls of stiff, forked leaves along densely branched stems. It grows mostly in quiet freshwater areas such as the upper Chesapeake Bay and rivers, streams, lakes and ponds throughout the Bay watershed.
Appearance
Coontail is made up of slender, densely branched stems that can grow to 8 feet long and stiff, forked leaves with fine teeth along one edge. Leaves grow in whorls of 9 to 10 along each stem. Whorls become more crowded toward the tip of the stems. Leaves keep their shape when taken out of the water. With no true root system, the plant floats freely in the water.
Predators
Migratory waterfowl feed on coontail.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
This grass usually reproduces asexually when stem fragments break off in autumn, overwinter on the bottom and develop into new plants in spring. It also occasionally reproduces sexually when the plants flower and produce tiny nut-like seeds.
Did You Know?
- Coontail gets its name from its appearance, which is similar to a raccoon’s tail. It is also known as hornwort.
- This grass provides important shade, shelter and spawning areas for some fish.
- It can be confused with Eurasian watermilfoil. You can distinguish coontail by its stiff leaves that keep their shape when taken out of the water.
Sources and Additional Information
- Underwater Grasses in Chesapeake Bay & Mid-Atlantic Coastal Waters by Maryland Sea Grant
- Life in the Chesapeake Bay by Alice Jane Lippson and Robert L. Lippson
- Chesapeake Bay: Nature of the Estuary, A Field Guide by Christopher P. White
- Bay Grass Key: Coontail – Maryland Department of Natural Resources
- Weed Identification Guide: Coontail – Virginia Tech
- PLANTS Database: Ceratophyllum demersum – USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Quick Facts
Species
Native
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Size
Stems grow up to 8 feet in length
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Habitat
Grows mostly in still or slow-moving fresh waters. Usually found in areas with moderate to high nutrient levels. Floats in dense masses just beneath the water’s surface and can also grow near the bottom in channels and other deep areas. Sometimes found within large beds of other types of bay grasses.
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Range
Found in the upper Chesapeake Bay and in freshwater streams, rivers, lakes and ponds throughout the Bay watershed. Also grows in the low salinity waters of some moderately brackish tidal rivers such as Maryland’s Middle River and the Potomac River near Alexandria, Virginia.
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Status
Stable
