Cabomba furcuta

• Kole wetlands, an internationally important Ramsar site of high value biodiversity, has been facing the threat of alien invasive species.
• Cabomba furcuta, popularly called as Pink Bloom due its massive flowering, has been a new threat to the kole fields, in addition to water hyacinth and Salvinia molesta.

ABOUT CABOMBA FURCUTA

• A native of central and south America, Cabomba furcuta was brought to Kerala as an aquarium plant and has escaped to the wild.
• The submerged perennial aquatic plant grows in stagnant to slow-flowing freshwater.
• The fast growing Cabomba is a visual treat but becomes a potential outspread in water bodies by active stem propagation, hindering penetration of light into the water.
• Cabomba, which requires a large quantity of oxygen for its growth will choke water bodies and drainage canals.
• It causes decline in diversity of native aquatic plants and causes economic losses by affecting yield of freshwater fishes.
• The key to controlling the species is to mechanically remove them from the waterbody and dry them in terrestrial spaces, the team notes.