Eichhornia crassipesWater Hyacinth

The Eichhornia crassipes, or Water Hyacinth, is a free-floating aquatic perennial from the Amazon basin. Rounded glossy leaves sit on inflated spongy stalks that work as floats, and the plant sends up short spikes of showy lavender-blue flowers, each marked with a yellow blotch on the upper petal.

It is one of the fastest-multiplying plants in cultivation. Specify it only for fully contained water features, and confirm the destination's import position before it is scheduled, because many countries prohibit it outright.

Specifications

• Height0.2 to 0.5 metres above the water surface
• Width0.3 to 0.5 metres per rosette, spreading rapidly into floating colonies
• Native toThe Amazon basin of tropical South America
• FoliageRounded glossy green leaves on inflated spongy petioles that act as floats; evergreen
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilNone required; the plant floats freely on still or slow-moving fresh water
• LightFull sun
• WaterRequires permanent fresh water; does not tolerate salinity or drying out
• ClimateThrives in tropical and subtropical regions

Additional Features

• FlowersShort spikes of lavender-blue flowers with a yellow blotch on the upper petal
• UsesSuited to contained ornamental ponds and tanks, and to engineered nutrient-stripping systems
• SpacingIntroduce a small number of rosettes; the colony closes a surface within weeks
• Low MaintenanceRequires active thinning rather than neglect; the mat must be pulled back regularly to keep the water surface open
• Pest ResistanceGenerally trouble-free
• Environmental BenefitsTakes up nitrogen and phosphorus rapidly and is used in engineered wastewater treatment

Water Hyacinth is a striking floating plant that belongs only in water bodies with no outlet to a natural system.