Flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus)
 Native Substitutes:
 Control Methods

Can be seasonally controlled by cutting the plants below the water surface. Several cuts per summer may be necessary. Hand digging can be used to remove isolated plants located downstream of larger infestations. Extreme care must be taken if roots are removed because small root fragments can spread the plant. (Remember that removal of emergent aquatic plants requires a DNR permit.) Herbicide treatments are usually ineffective in controlling flowering rush. 		 
 
 
Appearance: Perennial aquatic emergent plant. It grows 1-4' high on an erect stem along shores and in shallow water. In deeper water, it will grow submerged without producing flowers. Leaves: Leaves are sword-shaped, triangular in cross section. Flower: Pink flowers are arranged in umbels. Seed: Seed production is common in flowering rush populations in the eastern U. S., but only one Minnesota population (Forest Lake) produces viable seeds. Root: Reproduces by vegetative spread from its rootstock in the form of bulblets. Both seeds and bulblets are dispersed by water current.

Flowering rush is actively expanding. It has spread from a limited area around the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River to sporadically appear in the northern U.S. and southern Canada. It competes with native emergent vegetation. It is a Eurasian plant that is sold commercially for use in garden pools. There is documentation from a site in Idaho, between 1956 and 1973, where flowering rush appeared to be out-competing willows and cattails.

Legal Status: This plant and any hybrids, cultivars, or varieties are prohibited exotic species in Minnesota and may not be possessed, imported, purchased, sold, propagated, transported, or introduced except by permits allowed by state law.
Canadian Wildlife Service http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/habitat/inv/p3_e.html