Eichhornia crassipes

Common water hyacinth

Family: Pontederiaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Common water hyacinth is a naturalized perennial found in the Great Valley, San Francisco Bay, southern California coastal areas, and Peninsular Ranges in ponds, sloughs, and waterways at elevations below 200 meters. Flowering from June to October, this invasive plant produces lilac, pale blue, or white flowers in compact clusters 5 to 15 centimeters long. Growing with floating stems over 30 centimeters in length, it forms dense mats across water surfaces. Its broad leaves are less than 10 centimeters wide, creating thick floating vegetation. This aggressive aquatic plant rapidly spreads and can completely cover water surfaces, disrupting local ecosystems.

Habitat: Locally abundant. Ponds, sloughs, waterways

Bloom period: Jun-Oct

Elevation: < 200 m

Bioregions: GV, SnFrB, SCo, PR

California counties: San Joaquin, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, Kern, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Contra Costa, Sacramento, Lake, Yuba, Placer, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Solano, Butte, Fresno, Tulare, San Luis Obispo, Monterey

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.