The beautiful water hyacinth, with its ten-inch lilac flowers, is just too much of a good thing. This floating plant has roots which hang freely in the water, as opposed to other water plants whose roots are imbedded in the mud. In just one season, a single piece of a floating root can start off 60,000 plants.
As the flowers and leaves of the water hyacinth stick up above the surface of the water, they clog up the flow of the water. They have even become a threat to navigation and have, in fact, closed harbors around the world. In addition, by cutting off the air supply on the water’s surface, they have killed many fish.
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