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| NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species |
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Common Name: yellow floating-heart
Synonyms and Other Names: Limnanthemum peltatum Gmel., Nymphoides nymphaeoides (L.) Britt.
Taxonomy: available through 
Identification: Nymphoides peltata is a rooted, perennial species with floating, round to heart-shaped leaves (3-12 cm in diameter) which resemble those of waterlilies. Leaves are green to yellow-green, have slightly wavy margins and are alternately arranged on the stem. Undersides of leaves are often purple.
Two to five bright yellow flowers (2-4 cm in diameter), oppositely arranged, arise from each peduncle. Flowers are simple umbels with distinctively fringed petals borne above the water surface. Plants flower between May and October depending on water temperature.
Each flower produces one beaked capsules (2.5 cm) which splits along one side, dispersing few to many smooth, shiny seeds with winged margins.
Native Range:
Eastern Asia and the Mediterranean
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 Alaska |
Hawaii |
Caribbean |
Interactive maps: Continental US, Alaska, Hawaii, Caribbean
Nonindigenous Occurrences: As early as 1891, N. peltata was sold in the United States as a water garden plant. To date, it has now been recorded 20 states as well as the District of Columbia. The first herbarium record dates to 1882 near Winchester, Massachusetts. By 1896, it was prolific in ponds around the District of Columbia and in 1929, an established population was found on the Hudson River, New York. In Connecticut, the earliest population was noted near New Briton in 1900; another noted on the University of Connecticut campus in 1939. In 2006, new populations were recorded in Osbornedale State Park near Ansonia, Connecticut and in a pond in Rockport, Maine.
N. peltata was first found in the western U.S in 1930 growing in Long Lake, eastern Washington and has since been found in five other locations with in the state – most recently in small ponds within Yakima and Whatcom counties. In Oregon, two populations were recently found and treated - one in Fanno Creek, a tributary to the Tualatin River, and the other in a pond near Springfield. Two additional sites in Oregon, both privately-owned ponds are reportedly infested near Sutherlin and the Mohawk River (G. Miller, ODA pers.comm. 2007).
Three ponds in North Carolina have been infested and subsequently controlled (Richardson et al. 2006). It has also been found in limited areas of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas and Vermont.Ecology:
Reproduces both by seed and vegetatively by fragments of rhizomes and stolons and separated leaves. N. peltata prefers slow moving waterbodies, but can also grow on damp mud. Typically found in depths of 0.5 to 3-4 meters.
Experiments in it's native range suggest seed establishment is most successful when there minimal inundation (periods of drawdown) and ample light (Tacagawa et al. 2005). Research by Cook (1990) shows dispersal mechanisms may include transport by waterfowl as well as chain-like rafts of floating seed.
Means of Introduction: Commonly cultivated as a ornamental species for ponds, N. peltata has been both accidentally and intentionally released into lakes and rivers with some nuisance populations becoming established. Secondary infestations may result as seed and fragments of rhizomes and stolons disperse downstream or within a lake.
Status: Listed as a noxious weed in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Oregon, and Washington.
Impact of Introduction:
Yellow floating heart can exhibit extremely invasive characteristics in lakes, ponds, and shallow, slow-moving areas of rivers and swamps. It typically develops monotypic patches which may exclude other native plants and create stagnant, low-oxygen conditions in the water below (DiTomaso and Healey 2003).
The mat-like patches impede recreational activities such as fishing, water skiing, swimming and boating.
Remarks: Plants such as Hydrilla can hitchhike with ornamental species when mail-ordered.
References
Cook, C. D. K. 1990. Seed dispersal of Nymphoides peltata (S.G. Gmelin) O. Kuntze (Menyanthaceae) Aquatic Botany. 37:352-340.
DiTomaso, J.M. and E.A. Healey. 2003. Aquatic and riparian weeds of the West. University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources. Oakland, California.
Many (2007) Invasive Plant Atlas of New England (IPANE) Online database. University of Connecticut. http://invasives.eeb.uconn.edu/ipane/ <accessed on 4/3/2007>
Ornduff, R. 1970. Cytogeography of Nymphoides (Menyanthaceae). Taxon. 19:715-719.
Reznicek, A.A. 1994. The disjunct coastal plain flora in the Great Lakes region. Biological Conservation. 68:203-215.
Sivarajan, V.V. and K.T. Joseph. 1993. The genus Nymphoides Seguier (Menyanthaceae) in India. Aquatic Botany. 45:145-170.
Stuckey, R.L. 1973. The introduction and distribution of Nymphoides peltatum (Menyanthaceae) in North America. Bartonia. 42: 14-23.
Takagawa, S., J. Nishihiro and I. Washitani. 2005. Safe sites for establishment of Nymphoides peltata seedlings for recovering the population from the soil seed bank. Ecological Research. 20(6): 661-667.
Other Resources:
Global Invasive Species Database; Invasive Plant Atlas of New England; University of Florida, Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants: Aquatic, Wetland and Invasive Plant Particulars and Photographs; Western Aquatic Plant Management Society; Know Nymphoides (FL Invasive Plant Education Initiative and Curriculum)
Author: Vanessa Howard
Contributing Agencies: 
NOAA - GLERL
Revision Date: 4/4/2007 Citation for this information:
Vanessa Howard. 2009. Nymphoides peltata. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=243> Revision Date: 4/4/2007
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