Curly pondweed gets its name from the wavy margins on the sides of its leaves.  Leaves are dark green with a reddish hue and have small teeth along the margins.  Plants may grow up to 2 meters long.  This pondweed is a European invader of water bodies in North America that may spread by re-rooting of small plant fragments.  Curly pondweed is important in spring as a provider of small aquatic animals for migrating waterfowl and as a spawning substrate for fish because it is one of the most abundant macrophytes from April to June.