Scientific Name | Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms |
Common Name | Waterhyacinth |
Family | Pontederiaceae (Pickerelweed) |
Class | Monocot |
Description | Floating rosette, showy purple flower, propagates vegetatively by daughter plant production |
US Distribution | Gulf coast states, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Sacremento River Delta (California) |
Worldwide Distribution | Tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, native to Amazon basin |
Ecology | Floating mat to rooted in moist soil, seedlings do best on mudflat or moist soil |
Economic Importance | Most important nuisance aquatic plant worldwide, and in US ($5M/yr in Florida) |
Ecological Importance | Major negative impact on aquatic ecosystems |
Notes | Northern range limited by heavy freezing |
Waterhyacinth
This entry was posted in Aquatic Plants.