Pontederiaceae
Pontederia

Pontederia crassipes Mart.

First published in Nov. Gen. Sp. Pl. Bras. 1: 9 (1823)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is S. Tropical America. It is a hydroperennial and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome. It is used as animal food and a medicine, has environmental uses and for fuel and food.

Distribution

Native to:

Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Chile Central, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela

Introduced into:

Alabama, Andaman Is., Angola, Arizona, Aruba, Assam, Azores, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Borneo, Burkina, Burundi, California, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Caroline Is., Cayman Is., Central African Republic, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Colorado, Comoros, Congo, Cook Is., Corse, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, East Himalaya, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Florida, France, Free State, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf States, Hainan, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, Illinois, India, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jawa, Kentucky, Kenya, Korea, KwaZulu-Natal, Laos, Lebanon-Syria, Leeward Is., Liberia, Louisiana, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaya, Maldives, Mali, Marianas, Marquesas, Marshall Is., Maryland, Mauritius, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Mississippi, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New Guinea, New South Wales, New York, New Zealand North, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norfolk Is., North Carolina, Northern Provinces, Northern Territory, Oman, Ontario, Palestine, Panamá, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Queensland, Rodrigues, Rwanda, Réunion, Samoa, Sardegna, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sicilia, Sierra Leone, Society Is., Solomon Is., South Australia, South Carolina, South China Sea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sumatera, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Texas, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad-Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Vanuatu, Victoria, Vietnam, Virginia, Western Australia, Windward Is., Yemen, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

Synonyms

Homotypic Synonyms

Heterotypic Synonyms

Classification

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Publications

POWO follows these authorities in accepting this name:

  • Knapp, W.M. & Naczi, R.F.C. (2021). Vascular plants of Maryland, USA. A comprehensive account of the state's botanical diversity. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 113: 1-151.

An alternative taxonomy had been proposed by the following authorities:

  • Govaerts, R. (2004). World Checklist of Monocotyledons Database in ACCESS: 1-54382. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [Cited as Eichhornia crassipes.]

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.
  • Ackerfield, J. (2015). Flora of Colorado: 1-818. BRIT Press.
  • Ahmed, Z.U. (ed.) (2008). Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh 12: 1-505. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  • Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.
  • Barthelat, F. (2019). La flore illustrée de Mayotte: 1-687. Biotope éditions.
  • Castroviejo, S. & al. (eds.) (2008). Flora Iberica 18: 1-420. Real Jardín Botánico, CSIC, Madrid.
  • Danin, A. & Fragman- Sapir, O. (2019). Flora of Israel Online http://flora.org.il/en/plants/.
  • Dobignard, D. & Chatelain, C. (2010). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 1: 1-455. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève.
  • Dy Phon, P. (2000). Dictionnaire des plantes utilisées au Cambodge: 1-915. Chez l'auteur, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
  • Espejo Serna, A. & López-Ferraria, A.R. (2000). Las Monocotiledóneas Mexicanas una Sinopsis Florística 9-11: 1-337. Consejo Nacional de la Flora de México, México D.F.
  • Iwatsuki, K., Boufford, D.E. & Ohba, H. (2016). Flora of Japan IVb: 1-335. Kodansha Ltd., Tokyo.
  • Jones, M. (1991). A checklist of Gambian plants: 1-33. Michael Jones, The Gambia College.
  • Jones, R.L. (2005). Plant life of Kentucky. An illustrated guide to the vascular flora: 1-833. The universitry press of Kentucky.
  • Knapp, W.M. & Naczi, R.F.C. (2021). Vascular plants of Maryland, USA. A comprehensive account of the state's botanical diversity. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 113: 1-151.
  • Kotiya, A., Solanki, Y. & Reddy, G.V. (2020). Flora of Rajasthan: 1-769. Rajasthan state biodiversity board.
  • Lejoy, J., Ndjele, M.-B. & Geerinck, D. (2010). Catalogue-flore des plantes vasculaires des districts de Kisangani et de la Tshopo (RD Congo). Taxonomania. Revue de Taxonomie et de Nomenclature Botaniques 30: 1-307.
  • Lorence, D.H. & Wagner, W.L. (2019). Flora of the Marquesas Islands 1: 1-411. National Tropical Botanic Garden, Smithsonian, DRPF.
  • MacKee, H.S. (1994). Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie, ed. 2: 1-164. Museum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris.
  • Mohlenbrock, R.H. (2014). Vascular Flora of Illinois. A Field Guide, ed. 4: 1-536. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale.
  • Orchard, A.E. (ed.) (1994). Oceanic Islands 1. Flora of Australia 49: 1-681. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
  • Pandey, R.P. & Dilwakar, P.G. (2008). An integrated check-list flora of Andaman and Nicobar islands, India. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany 32: 403-500.
  • Santisuk, T. & Larsen, K. (eds.) (2005). Flora of Thailand 9(1): 1-89. The Forest Herbarium, National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Bangkok.
  • Schäfer, H. (2021). Flora of the Azores a field guide: 1-445. Margraf Publishers GmbH.
  • Sita, P. & Moutsambote, J.-M. (2005). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Congo, ed. sept. 2005: 1-158. ORSTOM, Centre de Brazzaville.
  • Sykes, W.R. (2016). Flora of the Cook Islands: 1-973. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Hawaii.
  • Thaman, R.R., Fosberg, F.R., Manner, H.I. & Hassall, D.C. (1994). The Flora of Nauru. Atoll Research Bulletin 392: 1-223.
  • Thiombiano, A., Schmidt, M., Dressler, S., Ouédraogo, A., Hahn, K. & Zizka, G. (2012). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Burkina Faso. Boissiera 65: 1-391.
  • Timberlake, J.R. & Martins, E.S. (eds.) (2010). Flora Zambesiaca 13(2): 1-83. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Werier, D. (2017). Catalogue of the Vascular plants of New York state. Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club 27: 1-542. New York Botanical Garden.
  • van Proosdij, A.S.J. (2012). Arnoldo's Zakflora, ed. 4: 1-318. Walburg Pers, Zutphen.

Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

  • Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R., & Celis, M. (eds.). (2020). Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia. v1.1. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Dataset/Checklist. https://doi.org/10.15472/7avdhn
  • Diazgranados et al. (2021). Catalogue of plants of Colombia. Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia project. In prep.
  • Diazgranados, M., Allkin, B., Black N., Cámara-Leret, R., Canteiro C., Carretero J., Eastwood R., Hargreaves S., Hudson A., Milliken W., Nesbitt, M., Ondo, I., Patmore, K., Pironon, S., Turner, R., Ulian, T. (2020). World Checklist of Useful Plant Species. Produced by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity.
  • FPI (2021). Food Plants International. https://fms.cmsvr.com/fmi/webd/Food_Plants_World?homeurl=https://foodplantsinternational.com/plants/
  • GBIF.org (2021). GBIF species matching tool. https://www.gbif.org/tools/species-lookup
  • Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS) v.10 (2021); http://mpns.kew.org/

Other Data

Other Kew resources that provide information on this taxon:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Nov 24, 2015 Dawe, M.T. [5] Brazil Eichhornia crassipes K000837786 Yes
Nov 24, 2015 Smith, M.D. [25] Brazil Eichhornia crassipes K000837785 Yes
Nov 24, 2015 Mosén, H. [3497] Brazil Eichhornia crassipes K000837781 Yes
Nov 24, 2015 Bates, H.M. [s.n.] Brazil Eichhornia crassipes K000837788 Yes
Nov 24, 2015 Spruce, R. [s.n.] Brazil Eichhornia crassipes K000837782 Yes
Jan 1, 2009 Nascimento, J.; Sasaki, D.; Piva, J.H. [25] Brazil Eichhornia crassipes K000578622 Yes
Jan 1, 1995 Agra, M.F.; Gois, G. [724] Brazil Eichhornia crassipes K000837787 Yes
Jan 1, 1991 Krukoff, B.A. [5906] Brazil Eichhornia crassipes K000837790 Yes
Jan 1, 1991 Prance, G.T.; Philcox, D.; Forero, E.; Coelho, L.F.; Ramos, J.F.; Farias, L.G. [5248] Brazil Eichhornia crassipes K000837791 Yes
Jan 1, 1972 Prance, G.T.; Maas, P.J.M.; Atchley, A.A.; Steward, W.C.; Woolcott, D.B.; Coelho, D.F.; Monteiro, O.P.; Pinheiro, W.S.; Ramos, J.F. [13687] Brazil Eichhornia crassipes K000837784 Yes
Jan 1, 1970 Lindeman, J.C.; Haas, J.H. [3284] Brazil Eichhornia crassipes K000837789 Yes
Jan 1, 1969 Prance, G.T.; Forero, E.; Wrigley, B.L.; Ramos, J.F.; Farias, L.G. [6596] Bolivia Eichhornia crassipes K000837779 Yes
Asplund, E. [s.n.] Ecuador Eichhornia crassipes K002674030 Yes
Killip, E.P. [8341] Colombia Eichhornia crassipes K002674031 Yes
Pedersen, T.M. [3745] Argentina Eichhornia crassipes K002674058 Yes
Jenman, G.S. [1615] Guyana Eichhornia crassipes K002673966 Yes
Little, E.L. [6559] Ecuador Eichhornia crassipes K002674027 Yes
s.coll. [8699] Eichhornia crassipes K002674025 Yes
Jenman, G.S. [4535] Guyana Eichhornia crassipes K002673968 Yes
Holm-Nielsen, L.; Jaramillo, J.; Coello, F. [27703] Ecuador Eichhornia crassipes K002674029 Yes
Maggs, C.M. [II 45] Panama Eichhornia crassipes K002674026 Yes
Hostmann [535] Suriname Eichhornia crassipes K002673971 Yes
Parker [s.n.] Guyana Eichhornia crassipes K002673970 Yes
Goudot [s.n.] Colombia Eichhornia crassipes K002674034 Yes
Schinini, A. [27636] Argentina Eichhornia crassipes K002674054 Yes
Schwarz, G.J. [6803] Argentina Eichhornia crassipes K002674056 Yes
Henkel, T.W.; Williams, R.; Ameer, M. [2660] Guyana Eichhornia crassipes K002673967 Yes
Hassler, E. [[6320]] Paraguay Eichhornia crassipes K002673972 Yes
Pereira-Silva, G.; Amaral-Santos, A.; Castro, A.C.R.; Santos, A.J.B.; Moreira, G.A.; Alencar Moreira, J.R.; Medeiros, M.B. [15425] Brazil Eichhornia crassipes K001589194 Yes
Guile, D.P.M. [0116] Hong Kong Eichhornia crassipes K002673798 Yes
Harrison, S.G. [1649] Guyana Eichhornia crassipes K002673964 Yes
Cooray, R.G. [69120306R] Sri Lanka Eichhornia crassipes K002673799 Yes
Hu, S.Y.; Liu, S. [128] Hong Kong Eichhornia crassipes K002674064 Yes
de La Cruz, J.S. [3083] Guyana Eichhornia crassipes K002673969 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] Eichhornia crassipes K002674066 Yes
Schinini, A. [27636] Argentina Eichhornia crassipes K002674055 Yes
Walter, M. [s.n.] Paraguay Eichhornia crassipes K002673978 Yes
Souza, V.C.; Giulietti, A.M.; Atkins, S.; Harley, R.M.; Sakuragui, C.M. [5163] Brazil Eichhornia crassipes K000837778 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] Eichhornia crassipes K002674068 Yes
[Hostmann] [[535]] Suriname Eichhornia crassipes K002674033 Yes
Cabrera, A.L.; Fabris, H.A. [19911] Argentina Eichhornia crassipes K002674059 Yes
Hassler, E. [12472] Paraguay Eichhornia crassipes K002673976 Yes
Eyerdam, W.J.; Beetle, A.A. [22959] Argentina Eichhornia crassipes K002674057 Yes
Burchell [9133] Brazil Eichhornia crassipes K000837780 Yes
Zardini, E.M.; Basualdo, I.; Merelles, F.; Soria, N. [2660] Paraguay Eichhornia crassipes K002673979 Yes
Smith, S.G. [1240] Colombia Eichhornia crassipes K002674032 Yes
s.coll. [343] Brazil Eichhornia crassipes K000837783 Yes
Longman, H.A. [s.n.] Australia Eichhornia crassipes K002674067 Yes
Hassler, E. [12598] Paraguay Eichhornia crassipes K002673975 Yes
Philcox, D. [3336] Brazil Eichhornia crassipes K:SPC-34785.000 No
Little, E.L. [6558] Ecuador Eichhornia crassipes K002674028 Yes
Morong, T. [265] Paraguay Eichhornia crassipes K002673974 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] Eichhornia crassipes K002674065 No
Balansa, B. [606] Paraguay Eichhornia crassipes K002673977 Yes
Hassler, E. [114] Paraguay Eichhornia crassipes K002673973 Yes
Steyermark, J.A. [87473] Venezuela Eichhornia crassipes K002674035 Yes
[Rankin] [s.n.] Guyana Eichhornia speciosa K001617443 Yes
Tweedie [s.n.] Eichhornia speciosa K002673965 Yes

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of the Cayman Islands

    • Flora of the Cayman Islands
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Living Collection Database

    • Common Names from Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com/

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Neotropikey

    • Milliken, W., Klitgard, B. and Baracat, A. (2009 onwards), Neotropikey - Interactive key and information resources for flowering plants of the Neotropics.
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0