Water Hyacinth

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Water Hyacinth, a floating water plant, is widespread in a variety of damp habitat like rivers, ponds and reservoirs. It is regarded as an invasive species in many countries because it grows abundantly and negatively affected the local ecosystem.

water hyacinth, floating water plant, hydrophyte, invasive species, flower
Flower and swollen petiole of Water Hyacinth.

Typical of a hydrophyte, that is plant that submerged or partially submerged underwater, Water Hyacinth is equipped with a number of adaptations to help it float. The most obvious adaptation is the swollen petiole, or leave stalk that contains air chambers, which functions like an air bladder for buoyancy. Inside the stem are aerenchyma, tissues with large air space that not only aid buoyancy, but also funnel air from the shoot to the root that remain underwater.

By reproducing asexually, this water plant can produce thousands of individuals in only a few months. It does so by generating stolon, a horizontal stem, which on certain point of its surface can produce new individuals. The stolon of Water Hyacinth is rather fragile; it breaks off easily, and disperses by the flowing water to other suitable habitat.

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