Monday, April 13, 2009

Can water lilies be used to purify water?

It seems to me I read something years ago about water lilies being a problem somewhere (maybe Florida?) because of their prolific reproduction and created havoc for boaters. But seems to me that there was research done and they do more good cleaning up the water than aggravation to boaters? Am I remembering wrong?

Can water lilies be used to purify water?
As I recall water lilies are very good at absorbing nitrates but other than that arent all that good at cleaning up water. Cattails on the other hand are great and are used to clean up water. I think the prolific plant you may be thinking off is water hyacinth, originally a south american plant it was introduced in many areas and is causing a few problems in florida due to its prolific nature, as it is clogging up waterways.
Reply:You are actually remembering correctly. White water lilies have been used for what%26#039;s called phytoremediation, or using plants to remove pollutants like heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium) from soil or water.


However, despite their postive use in phytoremediation, it is possible to have too much of a good thing and end up with the problem you described.




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