Salvinia auriculata is a species of plant in the Salviniaceae known by the common names eared watermoss,Salvinia auriculata. USDA Plants Profile. African payal (Malayalam: ആഫ്രിക്കൻ പായൽ), and butterfly fern. It is native to the Americas from Mexico south to Argentina and Chile. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant and it has become naturalized in the wild in some places.
This species is hard to distinguish from other Salvinia. California Department of Food & Agriculture. The plant varies in size depending on how crowded it is among other plants.Coelho, F. F., et al. (2000). Density-dependent morphological plasticity in Salvinia auriculata Aublet. Aquatic Botany 66(4) 273-80.
This plant has long been known as an invasive species. It had infested the Zambezi River by 1949.Hattingh, E. R. (1961). Problem of Salvinia auriculata Aubl. and associated aquatic weeds on Kariba Lake. Weed Research 1(4) 303-06. It is also considered invasive in New-Caledonia.
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