Pontederia crassipes (Water Hyacinth)
Pontederia crassipes (Water Hyacinth)-
this free floating aquatic plant from South America is named after 18th CE Italian botanist Guilio Pontedera. It has broad thick, glossy ovate leaves on long spongy, bulbous thick stalks. Hence the specific epithet "crassipes" meaning thick stemmed. They produce a spike of attractive 6 petalled flowers mostly lavender (sometimes pink or white) colored on an erect stalk. Water Hyacinth has an extremely high growth rate. Its population doubles in a week forming dense mats of floating mass on water bodies. They obstruct sunlight to lower waters affecting photosynthesis of Phytoplankton & reduce O2 availability causing aquatic animals choke to death. Water hyacinths absorb large amounts of heavy metals. Hence after the plant's death, rotten plant mass causes secondary pollution to the water bodies. Water bodies containing these plants are breeding grounds for disease causing mosquitoes. They obstruct the waterways. Because of its heavy growth rate, water hyacinth is a good source of biomass to produce biogas. Their capacity to absorb heavy metals can be used in purification of drinking water & in waste water treatment cells.
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