Just weeks after the discovery of Eurasian water milfoil in Cobbosseecontee Lake, another state-prohibited invasive aquatic plant has also been found there.
State environmental officials say Frogbit is native to Europe and northern Asia and is a popular water garden and aquarium plant.
Maine Department of Environmental Protection biologist John McPhedran says the latest Cobbossee find is the first known growth of this plant in Maine. He says Frogbit is a free floating plant that grows best in slow-moving water in protected coves.
“This plant can grow quite densely, and it has small runner called stolons that interconnect and intertwine, and they can create some pretty dense mats that would shade out native plants that would be living there,” says McPhedran.
McPhedran says it looks like the plant can be removed from the lake. However, he says real control will take years, not days or months.
