Eichhornia paniculata (Sprengel) Solms-Laubach [syn. Piaropus paniculatus (Sprengel) Small] was reported by J. K. Small (1913) as occurring in drainage ditches of peninsular Florida. The collection was made in 1907 in Manatee County (J. K. Small s.n., NY). This species can be recognized by its growing rooted in mud and by the presence of cordate leaves and an elongate flowering stem terminated by a panicule of 20-100 flowers. Eichhornia diversifolia (Vahl) Urban, native to Puerto Rico, is not known to occur in the flora area.
Fls trimorphically heterostylic; perianth blue to white, funnelform with bilabiate limb, the 3 lower lobes nearly or quite distinct, the 3 upper united about half their length, the middle upper lobe broader than the lateral and marked with yellow; stamens 6, inserted on the perianth-tube, the 3 opposite the lower lip exsert, those opposite the upper lip included and sometimes reduced or sterile; ovary 3-locular, one locule with a single pendulous ovule, the other 2 smaller and empty; nectaries septal; fr achene-like, enclosed within the accrescent perianth-tube, and beaked with the persistent style-base; marsh or aquatic herbs, often colonial, with broad or narrow lvs; infl a contracted spike-like panicle, the long stalk arising from the rhizome and bearing one lf with an expanded blade and above it a bladeless sheath. 3, New World.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
Perianth tubular at base, the limb spreading, somewhat bilabiate, the upper lobe marked with yellow; stamens 6, inserted on the perianth- tube, the 3 opposite the lower lip included; ovary 3-locular, ripening into a 3-valved, many- seeded capsule; nectaries septal. 6 or 7, New World.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.