Swaziland's Alien Plants Database

Salvinia molesta D.S.Mitchell

(Salvinia auriculata Aubl.)

SALVINIACEAE

water fern, kariba weed

Unknown, Swaziland Status Unknown

Origin: South America (Southern Brazil)

Growth Form: Aquatic herb

Plant Description: Perennial, free-floating, aquatic fern, forming dense mats with plagiotropic shoots and tightly overlapping leaves. Leaves: Floating leaves of different sizes, elliptic, entire, folded, light or brownish-green, becoming somewhat darker near the entire margins, densely covered on upper surface by hydrophobic papillae bearing groups of 2 or 4 uniseriate hairs united at their distal ends; papillae to 3 mm long; submerged leaf greatly dissected, hanging into the water, functioning as a root. Sporocarps in long straight secund chains, hairy, about 1 mm in diameter, containing mostly empty sporangia.

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Control:

Comments: Potential invader of aquatic systems