Weeds – Journal of the Asian-Pacific Weed Science Society
| Volume |
Issue |
Publication year |
Page No |
Type of article |
|
2 |
2 |
2020 |
67-80 |
Perspective |
Dragon Trees, Von Humboldt, and Napoleon: Water Hyacinth’s Journey to Africa
Jeremiah M. Kitunda
Email:
kitundajm@appstate.edu
Address:
Current Address: Appalachian State University, Department of History 224 Joyce Lawrence Lane, Boone, NC 28608, USA
Keywords:
Water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes, African lakes and rivers, Dragon tree, Alexander Von Humboldt, Napoleon, ecology, environment, aquatic weeds
Abstract:
This paper provides an account of the German naturalist and explorer - Alexander von Humboldt’s role in the migration of water hyacinth ([Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms], from its native range in the Amazon to other parts of the world between 1800 and 2000 1 . Humboldt (1769-1859), an avid plant collector, transplanted this free-floating aquatic species, renowned for its beauty as a wildflower, from its natural habitat in the Orinoco River in the Amazon Basin, first to the botanical gardens in North America and Europe at the beginning of the 19th Century. By the mid-19th Century, his network of scientists had already transferred the plant from European botanical gardens to Asia, Australia, Oceania and Africa, as a fish-breeding facility, an ornamental beauty, and a plant of interest to botanical research. By the last quarter of the 19th Century, the plant had become well-adapted to conditions in countries where it had been introduced, and spread aggressively, especially in Egypt, South Africa, and the USA. Its fame rose as both an obnoxious aquatic weed and multipurpose plant. During the imperial wars of the early 20th Century, European colonial armies used mats of water hyacinth as screens against enemy detection. In recent decades, water hyacinth has been declared the worst aquatic weed ever seen in Africa’s watercourses. It challenges navigation in natural and artificial waterways. Nonetheless, Africans turned this ecological disaster into an economic asset with the guiding spirit – ‘if you can’t beat the mats, join them’. The narrative of water hyacinth, therefore, represents one of the yardsticks with which to measure the depth and extent of Humboldt’s influence in both temporal and geographical space. Based on his personal accounts, herbaria data, and published literature, this paper provides a brief introduction to the role of this German naturalist in the migration of water hyacinth and perspectives on the influence of plant collectors of the past centuries on the spread of species during the colonial era.