Month: September 2023

#718 They called me Pistia stratiotes, also known as Pistia cumingii, and Pistia turpinii. I pay homage to the male botanists Hugh Cuming, and Turpin (I couldn’t find his records). They first catalogued me in 1753.

Native to Afghanistan, Andaman Is., Angola, Argentina Northeast, Assam, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Borneo, Botswana, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Burkina, Burundi, Cabinda, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Caprivi Strip, Central African Repu, Chad, China South-Central, China Southeast, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Himalaya, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Florida, Free State, French Guiana, Gabon, Galápagos, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Guyana, Hainan, Haiti, Honduras, India, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jawa, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Laccadive Is., Laos, Leeward Is., Lesotho, Liberia, Louisiana, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaya, Maldives, Mali, Maluku, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexican Pacific Is., Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Mississippi, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nansei-shoto, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, New Guinea, Nicaragua, Nicobar Is., Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Northern Territory, Pakistan, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Queensland, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sulawesi, Suriname, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Texas, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad-Tobago, Uganda, Uruguay, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Windward Is., Zambia, Zaïre, and Zimbabwe.