Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Cabomba caroliniana
Common name
Cabomba, Fanwort, Carolina Watershield, Fish Grass, Washington Grass, Watershield, Carolina Fanwort, Common Cabomba
Family
Cabombaceae
Where found
In still or slow-flowing freshwater to 3 m deep (or sometimes deeper, but it prefers permanent shallow water), in ponds, lakes, dams, channels and quiet streams. Occasionally free-floating. Coastal north of Dapto and Sydney area.
Notes
Introduced aquatic perennial herb with branched stems to 10 m long, with white or reddish hairs, rooting at the nodes of creeping runners and the lower stems into the substrate. Stems and leaves covered in a thin gelatinous coating. Submerged leaves opposite each other or whorled, 3-7 cm in diameter, fan-shaped, deeply dissected, feathery, peltate. Floating leaves few or absent, usually less than 2 cm long, narrowly oval to lance head shaped, margins entire. Flowers 6–20 mm in diameter, white or cream sometimes with a pink to purplish tinge, with yellow centres, with 6 'petals'. Flowers single. Flowers mainly summer to autumn.
A Weed of National Significance. General Biosecurity Duty with additional restrictions all NSW. Pest plant ACT.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Cabomba~caroliniana (accessed 6 January 2020)
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