Water Lettuce

Water Lettuce Latest News

El Salvador’s Lake Suchitlan is overwhelmed by invasive water lettuce which is impacting thousands of families dependent on fishing and tourism. 

About Water Lettuce

• Water lettuce is a free-floating aquatic weed found in tropical countries worldwide, including Asia, Africa and equatorial America.
• It is also known as water cabbage, Nile cabbage, or shellflower.
• Appearance: It is a floating aquatic herb that resembles a floating head of lettuce. It has white to tan, long and feathery roots that hang beneath the rosette of leaves.
• It grows best on still or slow moving bodies of fresh water such as farm dams, reservoirs, lakes, rivers and creeks.

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Why is it an Invasive Species?

• It forms dense mats that clog waterways making boating, fishing, and other water activities impossible.
• These mats also degrade water quality by blocking the air-water interface and greatly reducing oxygen levels which can result in fish die-off and the overall reduction of aquatic fauna and flora diversity.
• Impact on Environment: It affects water flow, damages native ecosystems.

Source: Reuters