| Giant salvinia | |
|---|---|
| |
| The fern Salvinia molesta floating on a pond surface | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Division: | Polypodiophyta |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida |
| Order: | Salviniales |
| Family: | Salviniaceae |
| Genus: | Salvinia |
| Species: | S. molesta
|
| Binomial name | |
| Salvinia molesta D.Mitch.
| |
Salvinia molesta, commonly known as giant salvinia, or as kariba weed after it infested a large portion of Lake Kariba between Zimbabwe and Zambia, is an aquatic fern, native to south-eastern Brazil.[1] It is a free-floating plant that does not attach to the soil, but instead remains buoyant on the surface of a body of water. The fronds are 0.5–4 cm long and broad, with a bristly surface caused by the hair-like strands that join at the end to form eggbeater shapes.[2] They are used to provide a waterproof covering. These fronds are produced in pairs also with a third modified root-like frond that hangs in the water. It has been accidentally introduced or escaped to countless lakes throughout the United States, including Caddo Lake in Texas, where the invasive species has done extensive damage, killing off other life.
In Europe, Salvinia molesta has been included since 2019 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list).[3] This implies that this species cannot be imported, cultivated, transported, commercialized, planted, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union.[4]
- ^ "TNC Global Invasive Species Team page". 9 October 2008. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "List of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern – Environment – European Commission". Ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ "REGULATION (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European parliament and of the council of 22 October 2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species". Eur-lex.europa.eu.