Common Water Hyacinth

(Eichhornia crassipes)

Common Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes [Mart.] Solms)

Alien: Native of South America.

Identification: Plant aquatic. Flowers large, violet, upper petal with a central yellow-orange oval surrounded by purple. Flowers arranged in a terminal spike. Leaves round, leathery, attached by a stalk to a swollen, air-filled bladder.

Distribution: Found primiarly in the southeastern United States northward to Virginia and Missouri. Also known from New York, and westward to Texas, Arizona, and California.

Habitat: Common Water Hyacinth is found in ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams.

Flowering period: July to November, all year round in Florida.

Similar Species: The large, violet flowers, round leaves, and inflated air bladders are distinctive.

Comments: Water Hyacinth is a noxious, invasive weed clogging waterways, ponds, and lakes in the southeastern United States. It should never be deliberately planted or accidentaly introduced anywhere.