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Water Lily...err...Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes)

Commonly and erroneously called water lily in the Philippines even by mainstream media, water hyacinths were originally from South America and introduced in many parts of the world. Pasig River and Laguna de Bay are local prime examples of the havoc caused by the aquatic plants in clogging waterways, choking oxygen from the water (similar to Kiapo) and breeding of mosquitoes.

There is beauty, however, hidden from most people unfamiliar with the plant.

Picture of Water Hyacinth with leaves and stems somewhere in Laguna de Bay

How beautiful and colorful its flowers are. Beauty in spite of its destructive presence.

Tutubi has seen water hyacinths used in waste water treatment, others claim the plant's high nitrogen content make it a potential biogass source. The most succesful use of the plant, however, is the use of its fibrous stem as handicraft materials for bags, mats, and slippers (like the ones in Las Pinas City, where the erroneously called "Water Lily Festival" is celebrated in July)

Other Information:

There is a Hyacinth in Greek mythology from whom the pretty hyacinth flower is named after. The bataw, of Bahay Kubo fame, in English is hyacinth bean.

Related Post:

Kiapo: where Quiapo Got its Name

Labels: Flora, Flowers

posted by backpacking philippines @ 8:08 PM,

19 Comments:

At Nov 27, 2007 4:16:00 PM, cheh said...: Love them!very pretty!
At Nov 27, 2007 4:32:00 PM, Mari said...: Aah, pretty flowers of the lily. I used to live near the Pasig River-it bordered my backyard-and since I see this plant daily when I was a kid, I never realized there's beauty in them. Baby shrimps love to cling on their root and we'd get them for bait.

Thanks for posting these lovely pictures.
At Nov 27, 2007 8:05:00 PM, pieterbie said...: I know very little of flowers and plants, but this is a pretty one.
At Nov 28, 2007 7:59:00 AM, carlotta said...: aha! bataw = hyacinth bean. salamat! =)

very lovely pictures, btw =)
At Nov 28, 2007 11:09:00 AM, tina said...: lovely! :) i like the color!!!! ;p
At Nov 28, 2007 5:14:00 PM, kyels said...: A beautiful kind of flow indeed. It's hard to spot water lilies here though.
At Nov 28, 2007 5:15:00 PM, dodong flores said...: Didn't know it's harmful. I always see this stuff floating in Pasig River everytime I would walk crossing the Guadalupe Bridge (called "Tulay" in EDSA). And yes, I have heard it's a good source of biogas. I think I read it from Manila Bulletin sometime ago :)
At Nov 28, 2007 6:56:00 PM, watson said...: I thought that their reason for being in the Pasig and Marikina Rivers is that they are helping control pollution in the waters. So they are actually doing more harm than good? Hmmm.
At Nov 28, 2007 7:03:00 PM, dragonfly philippines said...: cheh, really pretty, eh?

mari, dati ka palang anak ng pasig tapos may hipon pa sya that means ang tagal na nun

pieterbie, pretty one but destructive if there are too many of them

carlotta, mag-post kaya ako ng english ng bahay kubo, u like?

tina, makulay nga

kyels, here in pinas, some lakes and waterways are clogged up with one of the fastest growing plants there is

dodong, they're harmful if there are too many lalo na pag barado na daan. sa laguna they control them by tying them together so they look like green islands from afar

watson, sometimes they're really used for wastewater treatment due to their ability to survive in polluted environments. destructive of they're too many plus they choke the water of oxygen and obstruct sunlight
At Nov 29, 2007 7:57:00 AM, carlotta said...: lol why not makunat? sensya na ha nadisturb talaga ako dun sa assignment nung pamangkin ko eh hahahaha :D
At Nov 29, 2007 2:25:00 PM, nini said...: love the color, great shot.

nini
At Nov 29, 2007 4:27:00 PM, thess said...: my father in law's favorite flower...nice shots!
At Nov 30, 2007 9:56:00 AM, Sidney said...: Never saw them with flowers...:-(
Why don't they try to destroy some of them if they are harmful. There are lots of them in the Pasig River and Laguna de Bay.
At Nov 30, 2007 1:43:00 PM, lino said...: great colors tutubi... love it. :)
At Dec 1, 2007 5:35:00 PM, bebang said...: hello im bebang siy of LIRA, org of poets. nabasa ko sa blog ni howie severino, gusto mo manood ng TRIBU. ipapalabas ito sa dec8 sa UP Film Institute, 7pm.pupunta rin ang mga star ng TRIBU. Hope you could join us. please text Pam for ticket: 0919-7971213
At Dec 2, 2007 2:29:00 AM, Nance said...: what a beauty! we have so many exotic plants in pinas ... too bad I didn't know how to admire them when I was growing up ... but now I do!
At Dec 2, 2007 12:58:00 PM, dragonfly philippines said...: carlotta, hintyinmo hanaplang ako pictureng bahay kubo sa archives ko

nini,thanksbut no poetry still

thess, favorite flower?hemust've been living in a place full of them.

sidney,destrying them ain't easy.even someUS lakes and rivers are choked by themfor they nultiply so fast. but converting them to biogassholdsmuch promise if they're fast growers-- highly renewable energy

lino, thanks for dropping by again

bebang, that'sbe great but i'm already booked on dec 8. is there another sked with the gangsters?

nance, many plants indeed butunappreciated. thanks
At Dec 4, 2007 7:49:00 PM, kneeko said...: ayos ang shots dre.. nagawa na ba sa pinas na iconvert sa biogas ang mga waterlilies?
At Dec 6, 2007 10:55:00 AM, tutubi sa tabi-tabi said...: kneeko, wala pa ako alam gumagawa nyan, puro mats, bags, slippers atbp. yung sa biogass may nakita ako minsan research paper on that pati process. di ko lang alam kung feasible sya pero promising since ang bilis dumami ng halaman na yan

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Water Lily...err...Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes)

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