Question

An American plant, which had become a troublesome waterweed in India is

• A. Typha latifolia
• B. Trapa bispinosa
• C. Cyperus rotundus
  
• D. Eichhornia crassipes

Answer 1

The correct option is D Eichhornia crassipes

Eichhornia crassipes also known with the common name of water hyacinth is a free-floating aquatic plant native to America. It is often considered a highly problematic invasive species outside its native range. E. crassipes reproduces both vegetatively and sexually, but the vegetative reproduction is responsible for the plant’s rapid spread and colonization of water bodies. It occurs through the formation of stolons, which produce daughter plants. This is generally very rapid, if the temperature is high and nutrients are available, it often invades bodies of water that have been impacted by human activities as they often receive large amounts of nutrients. One plant can multiply to cover one acre in a single growing season forming a dense strand. So, with the combination of its free-floating habit, rapid vegetative propagation, and ability to survive on mud during periods of low water levels, E. crassipes has been able to naturalize in a wide variety of aquatic habitats.

Therefore, the correct answer is option D.