Giant Salvinia
Salvinia molesta
Giant Salvinia
Salvinia molesta
Giant salvinia (scientific name Salvinia molesta) is native to southeastern Brazil. Once released into slow-moving or still waters it readily establishes and spreads.
Description
Giant salvinia is a free-floating aquatic fern composed of horizontal stems that sit at the surface. At each node it produces a whorl of three leaves: two upper, floating fronds that are often covered in dense hair-like structures that look velvety or like tiny eggbeaters, and a third, modified submerged frond that hangs down and acts like a root. These features give the plant a distinctive, plush appearance and help it trap air and float. Under ideal conditions, mats of salvinia can thicken rapidly and cover entire ponds and slow waterways.
Salvinia molesta
Giant salvinia (scientific name Salvinia molesta) is native to southeastern Brazil. Once released into slow-moving or still waters it readily establishes and spreads.
Description
Giant salvinia is a free-floating aquatic fern composed of horizontal stems that sit at the surface. At each node it produces a whorl of three leaves: two upper, floating fronds that are often covered in dense hair-like structures that look velvety or like tiny eggbeaters, and a third, modified submerged frond that hangs down and acts like a root. These features give the plant a distinctive, plush appearance and help it trap air and float. Under ideal conditions, mats of salvinia can thicken rapidly and cover entire ponds and slow waterways.
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