Talk:Parrot feather

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I found your article to be very interesting. I have never heard of parrot feather, or seen them for that matter. I just copied and pasted your article so I could draw your attention to grammatical questions I had. They are just suggestions. I put them in bold. I thought that would be easier than trying to explain where they were in the article.

 Parrot feather is also commonly called water milfoils. Its scientific name is Myriophyllum aquaticum(italiciaze). Parrot feather is a flowering vascular dicot. The leaves of this plant have a waxy cuticle and are made up of four to six whorls. The leaves are feather like, hence the name parrot feather. This plant grows leaves both below and above water. The leaves above water can reach heights of up to one foot. Submersed leaves are usually very limp and are about 1-3 centimeters in length, compared to the 2-5 centimeter length leaves above water.
 Parrot feather is native to the Amazon River in South America, but can now be found worldwide. It is thought that this plant was introduced to North America around the 1800’s. It is found mostly in the southern parts of the United States because it likes a warmer climate. Parrot feather is a fresh water plant and can be found in lakes, ponds, and streams.
 Parrot feather is a perennial plant. As the water warms in the spring, parrot feather begins to flourish. Most of these plants flower in the spring, but some also flower in the fall. Flowers of this plant are very small and white in color. Almost all plants of this species are female. In fact, there are no male plants found outside of South America. Seeds are not produced in any North American plants. Parrot feather reproduces asexually. New plants grow from fragments of already rooted plants.
 Parrot feather is now used for indoor and outdoor aquatic use. It is a very popular plant in aquatic gardens. Unfortunately, in outdoor ponds, lakes, or streams, where this plant has taken root, problems can occur due to its presence. There is not a real predator to the parrot feather plant, so it tends to grow out of control in some areas. The plant is often too hard or tough for most water grazers to eat. In its native habitat some insects feed on this plant. In its introduced habitats only a hand full of predators have been found, and research does not show any considerable damage. In Florida, a flea beetle was found to use parrot feather as a host for its larvae. Some problems that can be found due to its over growth are the killing off of algae, mosquito larvae habitat, causes problems in irrigation and drainage, and restriction of water recreational activities. Herbicides have not been found to be very useful in controlling its growth, and cutting it seems to make it spread and grow more. In Connecticut parrot feather is considered invasive and has been banned.
I also thought you might want to look at the end of paragraph 3.  It sounds kind of choppy and I didn't know if you could find a way to smooth it out.  Also in the last paragraph, the sentence that starts with "Some problems that can be found..." is a little confusing.  You might want to break it up.  In the beginning of the article you say the leaves grow above and below water but you tell the reader that before you say it grows in water.  You might think about switching the first and second paragraphs because the second paragraph gives a great intro to the plant. 
The only content question I had was that you say the leaves above water can reach heights of 1 foot but later you say they are only 2-5 cm long.  I hope this is helpful.  You gave a lot of great information and it is clear you did your research.  You also used a lot of teminology from class...whorls, perennial, asexual reproduction, etc.  Great job!!!

[edit] Editing

I forgot to say who I was when I gave you my comments. This is Lara from your Bio online class:)