Cabomba caroliniana, commonly known as Carolina fanwort,[3] is a rhizomatous,[4] aquatic,[5] perennial,[3] herb[5] native to North and South America.[2] Having been a popular aquarium plant,[6] it has been exported around the world, and has become an invasive species in Europe and Australia.[7][8]
Submerged leaf of Cabomba caroliniana A.Gray with scale bar (2 cm) on a white backgroundGreen and reddish-brown shootsStraplike floating leaves with flowersSubmerged leaves protruding above the surface
Vegetative characteristics
Cabomba caroliniana is a rhizomatous,[4] perennial,[3] aquatic[5] herb[3] with green,[5] up to 1.5 m long,[9] and 1–2 mm wide stems.[10] The floating leaves are 0.6–3 cm long, and 1–4 mm wide.[6]
Generative characteristics
The 0.6–1.5 cm wide flower[5] floats on the water surface, or extends beyond it.[11] It has white, 5–12 mm long, and 2–7 mm wide sepals, and white, 4–12 mm long, and 2–5 mm wide petals.[4] The androecium consists of (3–4–)6 stamens.[5] The gynoecium consists of 2–3 carpels.[9] The 8–8.7 mm long, and 2.1–2.3 mm wide fruit bears ovoid to oblong, 1.5–3 mm long, and 1–2.2 mm wide seeds.[5]
Cytology
The chromosome count is 2n = 26, 78, 104.[4] The chloroplast genome of Cabomba caroliniana is 164057 bp or 160177 bp long.[12]
Cabomba caroliniana is commonly called Carolina fanwort,[3] Carolina water shield,[14] green cabomba, fanwort, fish grass, Washington grass, Washington plant, common cabomba, Washington plant, and watershield.[15]
Distribution
It is native to southeastern South America (southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina),[16] and the East and West Coasts of the United States.[3]
Ecology
Large numbers of plants are sent from Florida to the rest of the U.S. for commercial use. Fanwort is also grown commercially in Asia for export to Europe and other parts of the world. Small-scale, local cultivation occurs in some areas, and aquarists are probably responsible for some introductions.[citation needed]
This species grows rooted in the mud of stagnant to slow-flowing water, including streams, smaller rivers, lakes, ponds, sloughs, and ditches. In some states in the United States, it is now regarded as a weed. Fanwort stems become brittle in late summer, which causes the plant to break apart, facilitating its distribution and invasion of new water bodies. It produces by seed, but vegetative reproduction seems to be its main vehicle for spreading to new waters. Growth of 50mm (2.0in) a day has been reported in Lake Macdonald in Queensland, Australia.[17]
Use in the aquarium trade has led to some species being introduced to other parts of the world, such as Australia, where Cabomba caroliniana it is a nationally declared weed.[8] Having arrived in 1967, it spread rapidly in waterways and out-competed native plants, threatening water supplies, especially along the eastern side of the continent.[18] It is a weed of national significance in Australia.[19]
It is also on the list of invasive alien species of union concern in the EU.[7] The latter implies that the species cannot be traded nor commercialised. The EU forbids trading and selling of the plant and requires people possessing it before the Regulation went into force to take appropriate measures to prevent it from spreading.[20]
Control measures
As of July 2023[update] a trial is under way to control the weed by introducing a tiny South American beetle, Hydrotimetes natans, or Cabomba weevil, into Lake Macdonald and Lake Kurwongbah in Queensland. The species is being bred in a nursery at Kurwongbah, with a view to national introduction for biological control of the weed. The larvae of the weevil damage the plant by tunnelling through its stems, breaking them down and causing fungal infections which hinder their ability to reproduce. It has been found that only the insect mostly feeds on Cabomba, and does not affect any native plants.[18]
↑ T.D. Stanley, A.E. Orchard, P.G. Kodela. Cabomba caroliniana var. caroliniana, in P.G. Kodela (ed.), Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Cabomba%20caroliniana%20var.%20caroliniana [Date Accessed: 14 February 2025]
↑ "Cabomba caroliniana". Global Invasive Species Database. 4 March 2006. Retrieved 13 July 2023. Principal source: Washington State Department of Ecology, 2003. Technical Information About Cabomba caroliniana (Fanwort), ERDC, UNDATED Cabomba caroliniana Gray (Fanwort); Compiler: National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) & IUCN/SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG)
Ørgaard, M. (1991). The genus Cabomba (Cabombaceae) - a taxonomic study. Nordic Journal of Botany 11: 179-203
Gleason, H.A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York.
Hotchkiss, N. 1972. Common Marsh, Underwater and Floating-leaved Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications, Inc., New York.
Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, and C.R. Bell. 1968. Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.
Riemer, D.N. and R.D. Ilnicki. 1968. Overwintering of Cabomba in New Jersey. Weed Science 16:101-102.
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