Pistia stratiotes Linnaeus. Common name: Water Lettuce. Habitat: Stagnant or slow-moving waters of rivers, sometimes cultivated in ponds, where it persists for a while (presumably eventually eliminated by cold winters in the more northern parts of our area). Distribution: Native in a wide area across the Paleotropics and Neotropics, including in North America at least peninsular FL; it has been sometimes considered an alien and noxious waterweed in FL but evidence strongly supports its nativity there (Evans 2013). Reported for AR (Serviss & Serviss 2023a). This floating aquatic appeared in the Waccamaw River of SC (downstream from NC) in 1990 and 1991, apparently successfully overwintering (Nelson 1993).

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Synonymy ⓘ: = Can, ETx1, FNA22, GW1, Il, K4, NcTx, NY, S, S13, Tx, Va, WH3, Spaulding et al (2019); = n/a — C, F, RAB, Tat. Basionym: Pistia stratiotes L. 1753

Links to other floras: = Pistia stratiotes - FNA22

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: OBL
• Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: OBL
• Great Plains: OBL
• Midwest: OBL
• Northcentral & Northeast: OBL

Heliophily ⓘ: 8