Pistia stratiotes infloresence

From: "Dr. C. R. Waldron" <cwaldron at frognet.net> on 1998.10.28 at 20:06:19(2727) After drooling over the blooms of the giants (A. titanum and A. = gigas/brooksii), I thought I would throw in a note on the other extreme. = Currently blooming under lights in my basement is Pistia stratiotes. = Here in Ohio, the cold weather gets Pistia before it has a chance to = bloom (last Friday night we hit 20F). This year I decided to try a = recent suggestion and bring some inside under lights. About 3 weeks ago = I took two small plants (one c. 7cm diameter, the other 5cm), set the = roots in soggy peat in a shallow dish and placed them 4cm from two 40W = fluorescents (one a plantgrow type, the other cool white). Low and = behold, both are in bloom. There are three inflorescences on the larger = plant and one on the smaller. At just 6-7mm spathe length it takes a = magnifying glass or low-power microscope to appreciate them, but in = their own way they are exquisite little gems. Clarence

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