Eichornia crassipes
| Common water hyacinth | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Commelinales |
| Family: | Pontederiaceae |
| Genus: | Eichhornia |
| Species: | E. crassipes |
| Binomial name | |
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Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms |
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Eichhornia crassipes, commonly known as (common) water hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to the Amazon basin, and is often a highly problematic invasive species outside its native range.
Water hyacinth is a free-floating perennial aquatic plant (or hydrophyte) native to tropical and sub-tropical South America. With broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves, water hyacinth may rise above the surface of the water as much as 1 meter in height. The leaves are 10–20 cm across, and float above the water surface. They have long, spongy and bulbous stalks. The feathery, freely hanging roots are purple-black. An erect stalk supports a single spike of 8-15 conspicuously attractive flowers, mostly lavender to pink in colour with six petals. When not in bloom, water hyacinth may be mistaken for frog's-bit (Limnobium spongia) or Amazon frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum).
One of the fastest growing plants known, water hyacinth reproduces primarily by way of runners or stolons, which eventually form daughter plants. Each plant additionally can produce thousands of seeds each year, and these seeds can remain viable for more than 28 years. Some water hyacinths were found to grow between 2 and 5 metres a day in some sites in Southeast Asia. The common water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) are vigorous growers and mats can double in size in two weeks.
In their native range these flowers are pollinated by long tongued bees and they can reproduce both sexually and clonally. The invasiveness of the hyacinth is related to its ability to clone itself and large patches are likely to all be part of the same genetic form.
Water hyacinth have three flower morphs and are termed "tristylous". The flower morphs are named for the length of their pistil: long, medium and short. However, the short morph is restricted to the native range due to founder events during its distribution.
Its habitat ranges from tropical desert to subtropical or warm temperate desert to rainforest zones. The temperature tolerance of the water hyacinth is the following; its minimum growth temperature is 12 °C (54 °F); its optimum growth temperature is 25–30 °C (77–86 °F); its maximum growth temperature is 33–35 °C (91–95 °F), and its pH tolerance is estimated at 5.0–7.5. Leaves are killed by frost and plants do not tolerate water temperatures > 34 °C (93 °F). Water hyacinths do not grow where the average salinity is greater than 15% that of sea water. In brackish water, its leaves show epinasty and chlorosis, and eventually die. Rafts of harvested water hyacinth have been floated to the sea where it is killed.
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Wikipedia