ABSTRACT
The water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes Solms, belongs to the family Pontederiaceae, order Liliales. It is free-floating or has its roots anchored in the soil of muddy shores. The water hyacinth is a very troublesome aquatic weed and it is listed among the ten most notorious weeds in the world. The original habitat is tropical South America, during the nineteenth century it was spread as an ornamental and at present it has been disseminated into most tropical and subtropical regions. The inflorescence is a spike which is subtended by two bracts and surmounts an elongate stalk. A flower consists of a hypanthium, three sepals, three petals, six stamens and a tricarpellate pistil.
