Reader Submission: The Water Hyacinth (Photos)
The water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is an aquatic plant from the pontederia family (Pontederiaceae). The plant originates from South America. The lilac flowers resemble those of the hyacinth, but the plants are not related.
Each leaf base is thickened into an air-filled spongy sphere. As a result, the water hyacinth has a great buoyancy. The plants propagate both by rhizomes on which new plants grow, and by seed. This way the water hyacinth can proliferate into a real plague. In addition, the invasive species suffocates all other aquatic plants and entire rivers become clogged. The cultivation of the water hyacinth is therefore prohibited in many countries with a warm climate. Finally, in Suriname, the plant in the Brokopondo reservoir had to be controlled with herbicides because the hydroelectric power station of the Afobaka dam was disrupted.
Over the years, the plant has also been exported to other parts of the world (Africa, Asia) and this plant must also be controlled there.
From August 3, 2016, a European ban applies to the possession, trade, cultivation, transport and import of this species of invasive exotic.
Source: Wikipedia
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The Water Hyacinth was partly to blame for the 2011 flooding in the suburbs of Bangkok!
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Submitted by Ton
This plant contains a fiber that can absorb a lot of water even when dried and is therefore interesting as a soil improver. A disadvantage for this purpose is that the plant absorbs heavy metals from the water, but if the rivers are clean, then this plant certainly has an economic value.
The fiber can also be used with other fibers in the textile industry.
This plant also contains proteins and can possibly serve as animal feed, because it is a matter of separating juices and fibers.
One can see plants like this as undesirable but it is better to see the positive things in it and it would be nice if start-ups would take up something like this, because I don't have time for it 😉
It would be even better if NL students who go on a Thai internship wash this pig. Not only Thailand suffers from this plant and there is good money to be made in Africa, for example, by reducing the mosquito population and thus helping to combat malaria as soon as these plants can be processed industrially.
Furniture is already being made from the water hyacinth:
https://aim2flourish.com/innovations/transforming-water-hyacinths-into-high-value-furniture-products
This plant is the terrorist of the great waterways. It takes a lot of time and effort to keep it navigable.