Status of water hyacinth in Tasmania(Eichhornia crassipes)
- Water hyacinth is a declared weed in Tasmania under the Tasmanian Weed Management Act 1999. The importation, sale and distribution of water hyacinth are prohibited in Tasmania.
- The legal responsibilities of landholders and other stakeholders in dealing with water hyacinth are laid out in the water hyacinth Statutory Weed Management Plan.
What does water hyacinth look like?
hyacinth is a perennial (long-lived) aquatic herb that forms masses of
free floating clumps. A rosette of smooth, glossy and almost circular
leaves arise from an erect stem which has bladder-like swellings
allowing the plant to float on the water surface. Flower spikes to 50 cm
long carry 3 to 35 flowers. The flowers are pale lilac and
hyacinth-like, and the top-most flowers in the spike have a central
yellow blotch. The roots are feathery, trail in the water and can grow
to more than 1 metre long.
- Water hyacinth spreads by seed
carried in mud on the feet of birds or on boats, and vegetatively when
fragments of the plant break off from an infestation and spread
Image top: water hyacinth flower (Image: Louis M Landry)
Image above top left: water hyacinth flower (Image: Jeff Abbas)
Image above top right: water hyacinth leaves - detail (Image: Barry Rice)
Image above left: water hyacinth leaves (Image: Barry Rice)
Image above top right: water hyacinth - waterway infestation (Image: CDFA )
Impacts of water hyacinth
hyacinth can have severe environmental impacts including reducing water
flow, loss of water through transpiration, and putrification of the
- Water hyacinth can block irrigation channels and
impact on agriculture, disrupt hydro-electric generation, and restrict
access to recreational water bodies.
Where does water hyacinth occur?
- Water hyacinth is native to South America and prefers slow-moving, still or stagnant waters.
- In Australia, water hyacinth has naturalised in all mainland states.
- Water hyacinth has not managed to establish in Tasmania. However, the weed has been recorded in aquaria.
What you need to do
- If you locate water
hyacinth anywhere in Tasmania, or if you find a plant that you think
could be water hyacinth , immediately contact your Regional Weed
Management Officer on 1300 368 550 to report this weed.
Water Hyacinth Statutory Weed Management Plan
Weed Links and Resources
Other useful links
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