• Scientific Name: Pistia stratiotes L.
• Ref: Sp. Pl.:963. 1753
• Synonyms: Apiospermum obcordatum (Schleid.) Klotzsch; Pistia obcordata Schleid.
• English Common Name: water cabbage, water lettuce, Nile cabbage, shellflower
• Chinese Common Name: 大薸 dàpiáo, 大漂 dàpiāo, 水浮萍 shuǐ∙fúpíng, 水荷莲 shuǐ∙hélián
• Japanese Common Name: ボタンウキクサ [牡丹浮草] botanukikusa
• Family: Araceae
• Genus: Pistia
• Distribution: Water fields, lakes, ponds. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan, Yunnan; cultivated in Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shandong, Sichuan [tropical and subtropical regions worldwide].
• Photo: 08/30/2009, Hangzhou Botanical Garden, Zhejiang

Morphological characters are the same as those of the genus. Plants aquatic, floating. Roots many, pendulous in water, feathery. Leaves in rosettes, 1.3-10 × 1.5-6 cm. Spathe white, 5-12 mm. Fl. May-Nov. (Flora of China)

06/21/2009@SCBG