Nymphoides peltata
Common Name(s): Yellow floating heart
Non-Native to Florida
This species appears on the following legally prohibited plant lists
| Federal Noxious Weed List | Florida Noxious Weed List | Florida Prohibited Aquatic Plants List |
| No | Yes | No |
UF-IFAS Assessment of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas
USDA-APHIS Weed Risk Assessment for Nymphoides peltata (S. G. Gmel.) Kuntze (Menyanthaceae) – Yellow floating heart (2012) (PDF)
Yellow floating heart was introduced as an ornamental aquatic plant from eastern Asia. It is a floating-leaved plant and is generally somewhat larger than America’s native floating hearts.
Its flower is yellow. It has adventitious roots along an underwater stem.
Jess M. Van Dyke, NW Florida Regional Biologist, DEP/Bureau of Invasive Plant Management reports:
"Yellow floating heart (Nymphoides peltata) has become well-established east of Tallahassee in Lake Cam. The numerous yellow flowers are easy to spot in the morning
but are gone in the afternoon. The original plants came from a local outdoor improvement center and were placed in an ornamental pond. Subsequent flooding lead to the spread of the
plant to the lake nearby. Sound familiar?" (Aquatics magazine, 27(3):22. Fall 2005.)
According to the Global Invasive Species Database, "This species can become extremely invasive (pioneer character) in shallow, slow-moving swamps, rivers, lakes and ponds."