Crested Floating Heart   

Nymphoides cristata 

Crested Floating Heart invades canals, lakes and ponds in southern states.  This invasive aquatic plant has infested the Santee-Cooper Lakes in South Carolina and has proven to be very challenging to manage.  There is concern about movement of this plant to North Carolina.  It is illegal to import, cultivate or sell/trade this plant in North Carolina. 

If you find Crested Floating Heart in North Carolina please report it immediately to the NCDA Plant Protection Section at 1-800-206-9333.  Early detection and rapid response to  Crested Floating Heart infestations will be critical to keeping this plant from establishing in our natural areas.

Each stem produces a single leaf which lies flat along (or right below) the water surface. The leaves are heart-shaped. They can be all green or green and red. Slender tuberous roots dangle from the stem-leaf node. White flowers bloom through the summer. 

This plant will readily reproduce by fragmentation....  a single leaf can regenerate itself to produce another individual.  Leaves that are cut into multiple pieces can also regenerate into new plants.