Crested Floating Heart

Description

Crested floating heart roots to the bottom of the water body. Stems are round and thin. Leaves are heart shaped, growing up to eight inches long and six inches wide. They are attached to the stem at the v in the heart. The tops of the leaves are green with a red to brown margin around the edges. The bottoms of the leaves are smooth and reddish. Showy flowers have five white frilly petals and yellow centers. Flower petals each have a crest, a distinct fold of petal tissue, along the middle of the upper surface. This crest can be up to one inch across. Fruit capsules can be up to a quarter inch long and contain 20 seeds.

Crested floating heart produces spiky ramets – plant material that has the potential of reproducing. These ramets eventually sink to the bottom and can root to form new plants. Once crested floating heart can produce up to 500 ramets in six months, with 200 of them likely to sprout.