During the summer, profuse branching forms a canopy. The branches form dense, tangled mats on the water's surface. The absence of sexual reproduction in introduced populations of Brazilian elodea emphasizes the importance of the vegetative growth phase of the plant. Specialized nodal regions described as double nodes occur at intervals of 6 to 12 nodes along a shoot. A double node consists of 2 single nodes separated by a greatly shortened internode.
Double nodes produce lateral buds, branches, and adventitious roots.
Only shoot fragments of Brazilian elodea which contain double node regions can develop into new plants. The plant fragments readily and each fragment containing a double node has the potential to develop into a new plant. Plant root crowns also develop from double nodes along an old shoot. When a shoot sinks to the bottom during fall and winter senescence, a new root crown may develop at one or several double nodes along the new shoot. Brazilian elodea lacks specialized storage organs such as rhizomes or tubers and stores carbohydrates in stem tissues.