ABSTRACT
Members of the research staff at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL) are engaged in collecting plant specimens for a herbarium. Alligator weed plants are filed in the University herbarium and are classified according to Correll and Correll Alternanthera Philoxeroides Griseb. Alligator weed was originally identified as Achyranthes philoxeroides Standley, Family: Ameranthaceae; Tribe: Gomphrenae. Alternantheria philoxeroides is a true amphibious plant; it can be found growing from almost arid conditions to swampy areas and open water. On land, Alternantheria philoxeroides is found growing upright mostly around and close to shrubs, sometimes covering a good part of their surface using the structure as a support. The florets of the inflorescence develop from the bottom up. The anther tube envelopes the gynoecium forming a kind of protective cover. At anthesis the tube opens like a crown, at night, on cloudy days, or under dark shade, thus exposing the whole gynoecium.
