OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Alismatales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Pistia stratiotes   FAMILY Araceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pistia stratiotes   FAMILY Araceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Pistia stratiotes

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Pistia stratiotes

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Pistia stratiotes

 

COMMON NAME:
Water Lettuce


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Pistia stratiotes, Water Lettuce

Keith Bradley    kab_p_stratiotes_70942

July    Collier County    FL

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park

A whorl of male flowers tops a short stalk with a single female at its base, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).

image of Pistia stratiotes, Water Lettuce

JK Marlow    jkm160914_085

September        

SE-EPPC Aquatic Plant ID Workshop

Leaves light green, thick, softly hairy, with distinct parallel ridges, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE aquatic plants

image of Pistia stratiotes, Water Lettuce

JK Marlow    jkm160914_085b

September        

SE-EPPC Aquatic Plant ID Workshop

image of Pistia stratiotes, Water Lettuce

JK Marlow    jkm160914_087

September        

SE-EPPC Aquatic Plant ID Workshop

image of Pistia stratiotes, Water Lettuce

Graves Lovell, Alabama Dept. of Conservation & Natural Resources, Bugwood.org    bug_5400750

Month Unknown        

Looks like an open head of lettuce floating on the water, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).

image of Pistia stratiotes, Water Lettuce

Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org    bug_5447009

Month Unknown        

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Pistia stratiotes   FAMILY Araceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pistia stratiotes   FAMILY Araceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Pistia stratiotes

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Pistia stratiotes

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Pistia stratiotes

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1097

Floating aquatic (the roots floating); Forb

Habitat: Stagnant or slow-moving waters of rivers, sometimes cultivated in ponds, where it persists for a while (presumably eventually eliminated by cold winters in the more northern parts of our area), per Weakley's Flora

Native: peninsular Florida & the Tropics

Rare or waif(s)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.


INVASIVE

This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:

 

LEAVES:
Leaves in rosettes connected by underwater stems

FLOWER:

Inflorescence a spadix

FRUIT:

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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