06/24/2026
Attention boaters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts – an invasive aquatic plant is spreading across the southeast and causing major problems for our waterways and aquatic habitats. Do you know how to identify giant salvinia?
Leaves of giant salvinia appear textured with tiny hairs that, if viewed under a microscope, have an egg-beater shape.
Leaves are 0.5-1.5 inches long and can vary in color from green to gold or sometimes brown, depending on environmental conditions.
In young growth, leaves lie flat on the water surface and are smaller, but can grow and overlap when mature, creating chains or clumps.
The plants do not produce flowers but reproduce vegetatively, via fragmentation and budding of broken stems and nodes. Growth is fast, potentially doubling biomass in two days.
Common salvinia (also known as water fern) has similar but smaller leaves and, when viewed under a microscope, does not form the egg-beater like hairs and typically does not create as negative an impact as giant salvinia.
Although this plant can be a problem in standing or slow-moving waters statewide, it has become an increasingly concerning issue in west Alabama.
Giant salvinia can form thick mats on the water surface, disrupting food webs and the habitats of aquatic species and waterfowl. Navigation through infested waters can also be difficult. Be sure to clean boats and other equipment after removal from water bodies to prevent the spread of this plant. To learn more about this species and treatment options, go to https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/fish-water/battling-giant-salvinia-in-alabama-know-it-report-it-stop-it/
