Introduction

History of Water Hyacinth

The plant Eichhornia crassipes( water hyacinth) came from the Amazon River Basin in Central and South America. People wanted this plant because it had such attractive flowers. It has clusters of violet and yellow flowers, surrounded by dark green bulb like leaves which act as a float. A healthy water hyacinth plant is a very beautiful plant.
Because of its beauty, this plant was in great demand.
The Japanese had samples of this plant at an International Fish show and the special delegates attending this show were given a gift of this ornamental plant to take home with them. By 1884 people had started importing the plant to all parts of the world to use as a feature in fish ponds.
	Water hyacinth as a decorative plant in a fish pond - the water is clean and the plant does not grow rapidly.
By the start of the 20^th century this plant had found itself into the waterways and lakes of almost every country in the world. To make matters worse, water hyacinth grows very rapidly in water with a high level of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous. Today in most developed countries the rivers are full of these nutrients because of the use of fertilizer, soap powders and the fact that waste water from sewage, factories and settlements flows into our rivers. These wastes encourage the growth of water hyacinth.

Waterways all over the world are clogged by masses of the water hyacinth plants.

History of Water Hyacinth