More than 2200 species of the wild flora and fauna photographed in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico and the surrounding area.
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Flowers of Zihuatanejo
Water Lettuce
Pistia stratiotes
Flowers by Colour
-Vascular Plants (Phylum Tracheophyta)
-Flowering Plants (Subphylum Angiospermae)
-Aroids, Water-Plantains, Seagrass, and Allies (Order Alismatales)
-Arum Family (Family Araceae)
-Subfamily Aroideae
-Tribe Pistieae
-Genus Pistia
-Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes)
Pistia stratiotes, commonly known as water lettuce, is a free-floating aquatic plant in the family Araceae. Water lettuce forms loose rosettes of thick, soft, pale green leaves that resemble an open head of lettuce. The leaves are velvety due to fine hairs that help repel water, and they have prominent parallel veins running lengthwise. Plants typically float on the water’s surface, supported by a spongy leaf structure and a mass of long, feathery roots that hang freely beneath the rosette. These dangling roots provide habitat for small aquatic organisms and help absorb nutrients directly from the water.
Description
Pistia stratiotes, commonly known as water lettuce, is a free-floating aquatic plant in the arum family (Araceae).
It forms loose rosettes of soft, pale green leaves covered with fine hairs that give them a velvety appearance. The leaves are thick, ribbed, and broadly rounded to spoon-shaped.
Long, feathery roots hang beneath the rosettes, absorbing nutrients directly from the water and providing shelter for small aquatic organisms.
Small, inconspicuous flowers develop within a pale green, leaf-like spathe near the centre of the rosette.
It can reproduce rapidly through runners that produce daughter plants, sometimes forming dense floating mats that restrict sunlight and water movement.
Range
Its original native range is uncertain, but it is widely distributed throughout tropical and subtropical freshwater habitats worldwide.
It occurs in Mexico, including the region of Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, and the surrounding area.
It has become invasive in many regions outside its native range, where it can disrupt aquatic ecosystems and interfere with water use.
Habitat
Floats on the surface of ponds, lakes, reservoirs, canals, slow-moving rivers, and other sheltered freshwater environments.
Prefers warm, nutrient-rich water and generally thrives in sunny conditions.
Often proliferates in stagnant or slow-moving water, particularly where nutrient enrichment encourages rapid growth.