The camalote.
Also called flower bora, water hyacinth, water hyacinth common, tarope or tarulla.
The “Camalote”
(Eichhornia crassipes) is a plant that lives floating in water places. This plant is also
characteristic for being invasive, with large leaves and showy flowers.
The
invasive plant was detected in waters of the Guadiana River in 2004, but was
not given much importance. It is a species that lives in tropical climates
(typical of the Amazon) and is considered an introduced species. This plant is
dangerous because it has a high production rate and very low renewal time, so
it grows very quickly and affects the river. The accumulation of this plant
prevents the light to penetrate in the waters, necessary for other living
beings and in addition to being organic matter may lead to processes of
eutrophication, decreasing the oxygen from the water.
One of the
most affected cities is Mérida, where people think that despite removing the
great layer of water “Camalote” that lives in the water of the Guadiana River,
it will never achieve to eliminate this scourge.
One of the
disadvantages facing the withdrawal is that chemical elements cannot be used.
This affects the other living being that inhabit the Guadiana and surroundings,
so his retirement is carried out with machinery which makes the process very
slow.
