|
Home | Detectives | Suspects | Background Check | Kids' Headquarters | Top Desk Administrator | Case Files |
|
|
Trapa natans L.
|
THE CRIMES: Large floating leaved rosettes spread quickly to cover the entire surface of lakes and calm rivers; forms dense, choking mats; out-competes native aquatic plants; reduces oxygen and light levels in the water; woody seed has four sharp barbed spines that are painful to step on and have been known to put holes in bicycles tires that run over them. DESCRIPTION: Annual plant, rooted to the bottom, with greenish-yellow floating-leaved rosettes up to 1 foot in diameter that float on the surface; plants grow close together choking the water surface; seed is woody, with a leathery-like covering and four barbed spines. The Interrogation
Where are you from?
I'm a native of Europe, Asia, and Africa, but I'm liking it here in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic!
Lots of lake and river surfaces to cover with my pretty rosettes.
How did you get here?
I was brought to the U.S. by humans in the 1800s, but I still have a lot of places to visit. For example, I've been
in Massachusetts since 1859, but I didn't put roots down in the fine state of Connecticut until 1999. It's a tough
business moving around-let's say my "welcoming committees" always seem to be rude people and machines trying to pull
me out of the water before I can drop my seeds - it's almost like they don't want me to stick around! (Get it? "Stick"
around? Ha, ha! That's a water chestnut joke!)
You do have an interesting seed, but why the barbed spines? They hurt!
Yah think? I challenge animals to try and eat my seeds! Plus, they get caught on things, and the
seeds are carried off to new places. I like to move around! The coolest thing about my seeds is that they can be dormant
for a long time - kind of like a bunch of Sleeping Beauties lying on a lake bottom. The leathery covering keeps them from
rotting in the water, and then, maybe five years later, Bammo! Just like Sleeping Beauty, they wake up and start to grow.
Reward:
The honor of protecting our water resources— A healthier environment
and more opportunities to enjoy our natural areas.
|