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Electronic Flora of South Australia species Fact Sheet

Family: Pontederiaceae
Eichhornia crassipes

Citation: Solms in A. & C. DC., Monogr. Phanerog. 4:527 (1883).

Synonymy: Pontederia crassipes C. Martius, Nov. Gert.& Sp. Pl. 1:9 (1823); E. speciosa Kunth, Enum. Pl. 4:131 (1843).

Common name: Water hyacinth.

Description:
Scapes 3-8 cm high; leaves in radical tufts, lanceolate, flat, striate, 2-6 cm long, 2-8 mm broad in the lower part, always shorter than the scapes.

Heads small, globular, c. 4 mm diam., glabrous, the floral bracts pale, ovate, scarious, shining; female flowers within the lower bracts and consisting of 2 boat-shaped keeled scarious sepals, 3 white nearly flat oblong petals with a dark gland near the summit and a 3-celled ovary with a 2-branched style; male flowers of 2 narrower channelled sepals and 3 small hyaline petals at the summit of a short stalk, which also supports the 6 stamens.

Capsule globular, shining.

Published illustration: Cunningham et al. (1982) Plants of western New South Wales, p. 175.

Distribution:  Native to tropical America; naturalised at some time in all Australian States. Formerly established in quantity on the Murray River in S.Aust., but eradicated by 1954 and despite its continued presence up-stream, not again established in S.Aust.

S.Aust.: MU.

Conservation status: naturalised

Flowering time: No flowering time is available


SA Distribution Map based
on current data relating to
specimens held in the
State Herbarium of South Australia

Biology: No text

Author: Not yet available


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