Freshwater
Water Lettuce
Pistia stratiotes
Araceae
Facts
Care
- Growth form
- Floating
- Placement
- Surface
- Light
- High
- CO₂
- Not needed
- Growth
- Fast
- Difficulty
- Easy
Range
NativeIntroduced
Lives wild in Afghanistan, Andaman Is., Angola, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, and 92 more countries.
Introduced to Aruba, Bermuda, Germany, Hawaii, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Morocco, and 11 more countries.
More about the species
Description
Pistia is a genus of aquatic plants in the arum family, Araceae. It is the sole genus in the tribe Pistieae which reflects its systematic isolation within the family. The single species it comprises, Pistia stratiotes, is often called water cabbage, water lettuce, Nile cabbage, or shellflower. Its native distribution is uncertain but is probably pantropical; it was first scientifically described from plants found on the Nile near Lake Victoria in Africa. It is now present, either naturally or through human introduction, in nearly all tropical and subtropical fresh waterways and is considered an invasive species as well as a mosquito breeding habitat. The specific epithet is derived from a Greek word, στρατιώτης, meaning "soldier", which references the sword-shaped leaves of some plants in the genus Stratiotes.
Other names
Other scientific names
- Apiospermum obcordatum
- Limnonesis commutata
- Limnonesis friedrichsthaliana
- Pistia aegyptiaca
- Pistia aethiopica
- Pistia africana
In other languages
- Vannsalat
- Musselblomma
- Pistia
Articles
All articles
Easy plants for beginners4 min read
Plants that cope with low light, soft water and a beginner’s mistakes, and how to plant them so they grow.
Lighting: how long and how bright3 min read
How many hours the light should be on, why more light does not mean better plants, and how to avoid algae.
How to set up a South American aquarium4 min read
Soft, acidic water, subdued light, sand, roots and fallen leaves: how to set up a biotope aquarium from the Amazon and the rivers around it.
How to set up a Central American aquarium5 min read
Hard, alkaline water, sand and rock: an aquarium from the rivers and lakes of Mexico and Central America, with cichlids and livebearers.