2512

Floating aquatic (the roots floating); Forb
Perennial

Non-native: tropical America

Documented growing wild in GA NC SC

Uncommon in Coastal Plain but can be an aggressive aquatic weed (rare in Piedmont)

Look for it in ponds, ditches, sluggish water, per Weakley's Flora

To see a detailed map, click here

INVASIVE

This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:

• Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
• Brooklyn Botanic Garden
• Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
• Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
• SC Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Nuisance Species List, 2003
• SC List of Regulated Pest Plant Species, 2017
• Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
• Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2014

 

 

Aquatic

LEAVES:
Simple
Basal rosette

FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Blue, light purple
Bisexual
4 petaloid perianth segments, in two whorls
6 stamens (3 long, 3 short)
Superior ovary
Inflorescence a spike

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!

• Field Guide to Aquatic Plants of Alabama p62
• Guide to the Wildflowers of SC p394
• Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry p111
• Wildflowers of the Eastern United States p159

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Commelinales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA (10/20/20):
Piaropus crassipes   FAMILY Pontederiaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Eichhornia crassipes   FAMILY Pontederiaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Total evidence phylogeny of Pontederiaceae (Commelinales) ... (Pellegrini, et al., 2018)
Pontederia crassipes

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 039-01-001:
Eichhornia crassipes   FAMILY Pontederiaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933)
Piaropus crassipes