Experts are warning about the harmful impacts of an invasive aquatic plant in Lake Simcoe, nearly 100 kilometres north of Toronto.

Water soldier is not new to the province, but it was spotted for the first time in Lake Simcoe last year. The perennial aquatic plant is prohibited under Ontario's Invasive Species Act.

The plant has long, thin, serrated leaves that grow in a circular pattern, according to the Invasive Species Centre, a non-profit. The plant forms dense mats that crowd out other vegetation and may alter water chemistry, impacting native aquatic species.

Water soldier can be submerged up to five metres under water but floats to the surface in the summer.

"It will cut you up if you handle the plant or try to swim around the plant. So what we're trying to do is mitigate its sp

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