Water hyacinth and pickerelweed

This spot in Slidell is where Jessa used to fish with her family. Note the abundant water hyacinth, which is undoubtedly pretty but which would not have helped the fishing. Louisiana was quite possibly where this invasive species from the Amazon first found a foothold in North America; although other theories have been proposed, Eichhornia crassipes may have been introduced at the 1884 World's Fair held just across the lake in New Orleans. By 1910, water hyacinth had become a serious enough problem that a congressman from Louisiana, Robert Broussard, proposed importing hippopotamuses from Africa as a combined biological control agent and food source. The American Hippo Bill failed by a single vote.

Also present, and also blooming in purple, was a related aquatic plant, pickerelweed. Like its cousin, Pontederia cordata has become invasive in some parts of the world, but here it is native.