Water
Fern, Water Spangles
Salvinia
rotundifolia
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These
floating plants (S. rotundifolia) are annuals,
generally a pale green color with slender stems
bearing rather broad two ranked leaves and are
covered with fine silky hairs which make them
soft to touch.
Its buoyant, horizontal stems spread out on the
surface of the water. Reproduction is sexual and
asexual, and the fragmentation of stems prevails
in spreading the plant. Salvinia can be a nuisance
floating plant, and it grows best in warm, quiet,
often nutrient-enriched waters. Salvania rotundifolia
is the most convenient and acceptable salvinia
species for aquatic gardens, and it has long been
used as an ornamental, and as a shade and habitat
provider.
Salvinia
is native to the region from southern Mexico through
Central and into South America. In the U.S. it
was first collected in Florida, on St. Johns River
during 1928.
This
plant grows extremely fast and is capable of doubling
its size in approximately 3.5 days. This is even
faster growth than the closely related
S. molesta,
which is one
of the world's worst weeds.
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