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AquaPlantA Diagnostics Tool for Pond Plants and Algae
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Floating Heart

Nymphoides spp.

Floating Heart Locations in North America
Floating Heart Locations in Southeast US
a cluster of little floating heart and flowers

banana lily in pond
banana lily diagram

USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 28 March 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
Illustration courtesy of University of Florida/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants. Used with permission.

What is Floating Heart?

Physical Characteristics

Leaves:

  • Floating
  • Alternate
  • Long leaf stalks

Flowers:

  • White or bright yellow in color

Stem:

  • Stout

Roots:

  • Short
  • Clustered

Where Does it Grow?

Floating heart can be found in quiet flowing rivers, streams and lakes.

Pros and Cons of Floating Heart

Floating heart has no known direct food value to wildlife. Submerged portions of all aquatic plants provide habitats for many micro and macro invertebrates. These invertebrates in turn are used as food by fish and other wildlife species (e.g. amphibians, reptiles, ducks, etc.). After aquatic plants die, their decomposition by bacteria and fungi provides food (called “detritus”) for many aquatic invertebrates.

What Type of Floating Heart Do I Have?

There are four common species of floating heart in North America. Click on the buttons to learn more about each species.

Nymphoides aquatica
Nymphoides cordata
Nymphoides peltata
Nymphoides humboldtiana
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Photo Credits: The majority of the aquatic plant line drawings are the copyright of the University of Florida Center for Aquatic Plants (Gainsville). They are used with permission.

Aquatic plant photographs were provided by David Bayne, Jim Davis, Kelly Duffie, Billy Higginbotham, Michael Masser, John Clayton, Chetta Owens, Diane Smith, Joe Snow, Don Steinbach, Bridget Robinson Lassiter and Peter Woods.

You may use these photos, so long as you give credit to AquaPlant.

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