What IS This?
It has large water repellant leaves that can stand two feet
above the surface of a pond. They have six
inch yellow flowers with distinctive seed pods.
Large colonies can rapidly overtake waterways and they can now be found
in Jefferson County. Sooo…what is it?
The American lotus!!
This huge leaf belongs to an aquatic weedy plant that is related to the
water lily. Originally native to Central
America and the southeastern United States, they can be found from Florida to
Canada. Native Americans grew the plant
for food, using its roots, leaves and seeds.
We are asked to identify many plants and insects. When this
came into the office last August it was a quite a surprise! Metro Parks had a problem with the American
Lotus in a pond in Chickasaw Park and brought in this leaf for
identification. No one here had any
experience with these plants. Luckily, an extension specialist from KSU identified and assisted Metro Parks
in solving the problem (Kentucky State University has an awesome Aquaculture
department!).
So what does that have to do with Jefferson County and
Extension? Introduced species of plants
and animals disturb the balance of our ecosystem. As stewards of our property, neighborhoods
and planet we need to take care that we leave things in their natural places
and allow wildlife to stay where it belongs.
Choose native plants for your landscape; be selective about the
naturalized or non-native species you grow especially in and around water
features.
Make sure you know what
it is…
not, what is it?!
No comments:
Post a Comment