An aquatic native to Central and South America. Well known, but not common. Becoming more of a problem. Leaves similar to Frogbit Hydrocharis dubia. It is an escaped pond plant, creeping or floating stoloniferous, with floating or emergent leaves. Leaves are round and shiny, 4-12 cm in diameter, fleshy, with obvious dark bands encircling brittle, pale petioles. The leaf blades generally float on the water but can be emergent when water recedes.
Photo: Robert Whyte
Flower
Attractive yellow flowers with three fragile petals to 8 cm rather like those of Iceland Poppy. Flowers from November to January, though this specimen was flowering in May. Fruit is a group of hard capsules each to 15 mm with a beak. Capsules split longitudinally to release several small horseshoe-shaped seeds. This infestation was photographed in Banks Street Reserve near Quandong Street on Sunday, 13 May 2007.
Photo: Robert Whyte
